Page 161 - Orthodoxy Zizioulas

T H E B I S H O P I N T H E O R T H O D O X C H U R C H
establish ministers. Here, ministry is understood primarily in
terms of historical continuity.
The second principle approaches the Church from the an-
gle of her eschatological existence. The Church is the εἰκών or
τύπος of the Kingdom of God. The basis of ministry is not
mission, but the Eucharist, which gathers the dispersed people
of God ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτό. All ministry derives its form and meaning
from this eucharistic reality.
The office of the bishop arises from the synthesis of these
two perspectives. According to Hippolytus, the bishop is en-
trusted with both the continuity of apostolic teaching and the
offering of the Eucharist as head of the community. In these
two capacities, he appears as alter apostolus and alter Christus.
The bishop is alter Christus. This language is typological
and iconological, drawn from the liturgical anticipation of the
eschata. The bishop is treated as the living icon of Christ—not
because he possesses divine qualities, but because he points
beyond himself to Christ, especially in the Eucharist.
The faithful relate to the bishop with a combination of deep
reverence and sober realism. He is a human being, weak and
sinful, yet through his ministry he manifests the presence of
Christ. This is possible because the Church herself is the image
of the eschatological community; thus, the bishop, as head of
that community, becomes εἰκὼν Χριστοῦ.
Ordination is above all relational. It places the ordained
person within a network of relationships. The bishop acts in
persona Christi, not by virtue of personal qualities or power,
but by allowing Christ to act through him. At the same time,
he never represents Christ as an individual, but always as part
of a community. Ministry is not a possession, but a position
within the Body.
The eschatological Christ, of whom the bishop is an image,
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