Page 191 - Orthodoxy Zizioulas

P R I M A C Y I N T H E L I G H T O F C O M M U N I O N
Primac y in the Light of C ommunion
The issue of primacy is perhaps the most important ecu-
menical problem. The most difficult problem in Roman
Catholic–Orthodox relations is undoubtedly that of papal
primacy.
There are basically two ways to approach this problem. One
is the historical method, which has been used extensively but
has led to no fruitful result. It has proved almost pointless in
the debate and of little use in ecumenical discussion.
The other way is the theological approach. This begins by
raising fundamental questions concerning the nature of the
Church, placing ecclesiology within the broader context of
Christian doctrine—our faith in the Trinitarian God, in
Christ, and in the Holy Spirit.
If the Church is the “Body of Christ” and the “Temple of
the Spirit,” her nature depends on a Christology conditioned
by Pneumatology. If she is revealed in her fullness in the Eu-
charist, we cannot understand her structure and ministries
without reference to the structure of the Eucharist itself. These
are the basic presuppositions of a theological approach to pri-
macy.
The Church cannot but be a unity of the one and the many
at the same time. This principle stems from Trinitarian theol-
ogy, from Christology in relation to Pneumatology, and from
the eucharistic nature of ecclesiology.
In the triune God there is unity, but this unity does not
precede multiplicity. The “many” are constitutive of the one,
just as the one is constitutive of the “many.”
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