Page 212 - Orthodoxy Zizioulas

O r t h o d o x y
The Diaspora and
the Crisis of Catholicity
We can now turn to the final, and perhaps most signifi-
cant, issue concerning the canonical structure of Or-
thodoxy in our century: the problem of the diaspora, the
spread of Orthodox Christians throughout the West. This
phenomenon is distinctively characteristic of the twentieth
century. Although Orthodox Christians were not absent from
the West in earlier centuries, it was especially during the in-
terwar period that emigration reached such proportions as to
create large Orthodox communities in predominantly non-
Orthodox countries. These groups were primarily Greeks and
Russians, but also Serbs, Bulgarians, Romanians, Albanians,
Ukrainians, Arabs, and others. The largest concentration of
dispersed Orthodox Christians is found first in America, fol-
lowed by Europe, while a substantial Orthodox community is
also developing in Australia.
The importance of the Orthodox diaspora in the twentieth
century is undoubtedly significant. The encounter of Ortho-
doxy with Western thought and theology has greatly fostered
new creative developments in Orthodox theology, and has
assisted Western Churches in their own theological elabora-
tions. Yet the diaspora has also given rise to considerable chal-
lenges, especially concerning the canonical structure of the
Church, and these will have a decisive impact on the future of
Orthodoxy.
The Church is by nature local. Every Eucharistic commu-
nity is gathered around one bishop, and the principle estab-
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