Page 193 - 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
dition for catholicity. The “one-and-the-many” principle leads
directly to the ministry of primacy.
There is primacy within each local Church: the bishop is
the primus. There can be no eucharistic synaxis without his
presidency. Yet his primacy requires the participation of the
community. The “many” cannot exist without the “one,” nor
the “one” without the “many.”
The same applies at the regional level. The bishop of the
metropolis was recognized as the πρῶτος, yet his primacy was
conditioned by the participation of the other bishops. Canon
34 expresses this balance: all recognize the “first,” but neither
he nor they act without the other. This reflects not mere orga-
nization, but a theological—indeed triadological—principle.
The Orthodox Churches accept primacy in this spirit, as
exercised by the patriarch of Constantinople. This is often
called “primacy of honor,” though it involves real responsi-
bilities.
The primacy of Rome must be approached theologically,
not historically. It must either be justified theologically or set
aside. Two possibilities may be considered. The first is the
Byzantine Pentarchy: the Bishop of Rome as primus for the
West. While acceptable to the Orthodox, this solution has
limitations. The second is a universal primacy. This seems
unacceptable unless fundamentally qualified.
First, it cannot be a primacy of jurisdiction, since this
would interfere with the life of local Churches and destroy
their catholicity. Each local Church must remain fully free
within communion.
Second, primacy must belong not to an individual but to a
local Church—the see of Rome. Ecclesial communion is a
communion of Churches, not individuals.
Third, primacy must be exercised in a synodical context.
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