Page 295 - Orthodoxy Zizioulas

O R T H O D O X Y I N B I L AT E R A L D I A L O G U E S
ogy moved away from a scholastic understanding of the sacra-
ments as means controlled by the institutional Church, and
toward an ontological and ecclesiological understanding, the
issue could no longer be treated as a merely legal or pastoral
matter. The question was no longer whether the Church
wished to dispense sacramental recognition, but whether sac-
ramental and ecclesial reality in fact existed there. For this
reason, the theory of oikonomia has largely ceased to play a
serious role in recent Orthodox discussions of ecumenical
relations.
After the Second World War, Anglican-Orthodox relations
entered a new phase. Official theological dialogue began in
1973. Yet although the issue of Anglican ordinations ceased to
dominate, the agenda remained largely the same, still shaped
by the scholastic analysis of older academic theology. This has
often led to prolonged theological debate on individual topics
without sufficient attention to the deeper conditions of unity.
Among the chief difficulties in the dialogue are the follow-
ing. First, the Anglican idea of “comprehensiveness” permits
the coexistence of diverse and even contradictory theological
positions. For a long time, the Orthodox mistakenly treated
Anglo-Catholicism as representative of Anglicanism, whereas
Anglicanism includes evangelical, modernist, and other ten-
dencies as well. This makes doctrinal agreement difficult. Sec-
ond, the actual authority within Anglicanism of such texts as
the Book of Common Prayer and the Thirty-Nine Articles re-
mains unclear. Third, Anglican intercommunion with Protes-
tant communities raises the question how communion with
the Orthodox could be envisaged if the Orthodox are not in
communion with those same Protestant bodies. Fourth, the
ordination of women has emerged as a grave obstacle. Finally,
a deeper issue underlies the whole dialogue: to what extent
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