Page 50 - Orthodoxy Zizioulas

O r t h o d o x y
The Bible and Authority
If the Eucharist reveals the Church as communion, then the
question of authority must also be understood within this
same horizon. The modern crisis of authority—even within
the Church—stems largely from a misunderstanding of what
authority is.
Traditionally, authority has been conceived in terms of auc-
toritas: an external claim demanding submission. Whether
justified by nature, morality, reason, or even faith, authority is
often understood as something objective, standing over
against the human person and requiring obedience. Such au-
thority may offer security and stability, especially to fallen
humanity, which seeks firm criteria in its struggle between
good and evil. Yet precisely for this reason, it can also become
a source of enslavement. For when authority is external, it
inevitably comes into tension with human freedom.
History shows that even when such authority is rejected, it
is often simply replaced by another form of objective author-
ity. The problem, therefore, is not solved by changing author-
ities, but by rethinking the very concept of authority itself.
This rethinking takes place in Christ.
Christ came not simply to replace one authority with an-
other, but to free humanity from slavery. In Him, authority is
no longer an external imposition, but is revealed as commu-
nion. God does not remain distant, acting from “behind the
scenes” of history. He enters into human existence, shares in
it fully—even unto death—and thereby transforms the very
meaning of authority.
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