conjectural navel gazing; jesus in lint form

national workshop, the panel discussion

From their different locations and traditions all are called in Christ to share in the unity of the family of God's children... Jesus destroys the walls of division and creates unity in a new and unsurpassed way through our sharing in his mystery. This unity is so deep that the Church can say with Saint Paul: ‘You are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are saints and members of the household of God' (Eph 2:19)”.
- Pope John Paul, II

The panel was moderated by CBS Executive Producer (Cultural and Religious Broadcasts) John R. Blessington. The panel's topic was "The Local Churches and the Global Church." Dr. Margaret O'Gara, Professor of Theology at the University of St. Michaels College, Toronto, Dr. Joseph D. Small, Director, Theology, Worship and Education for the Presbyterian Church, USA and the Very Rev. Leonid Kishkovsky, Director of External Affairs and Interchurch Relations, Orthodox Church in America spoke to the topic. These are the notes that I took. I have very few quotations to offer you, only paraphrases. So, take the following as an interpretive effort and not a journalistic record. One thing I thought was interesting was how each speaker used resources from one another's traditions to make their points. This, I assume, is pretty typical theological rhetoric within the ecumenical debate.

Dr. Small was the first to speak. It must be an incredible challenge to present the entirety of Reformed Protestant polity and ecclesiology in a single statement. Still, he did a pretty good job. "The church is a community where the center is the Word (proclamation) and Sacrament (eucharist and baptism)." This is the most general definition that the Reformed tradition can offer. From here there might be incredible diversity theologically and functionally.

Dr. Small employed a little Calvin to speak about how the church might then be ordered. Essentially, the congregation is the foundational unit of the church.

Congregation - - > Universal/Global Church
not
Universal/Global Church - - > Congregation
He spoke of the congregation as Communion. It is the Body of Christ broken for the world. He also reminded folk that Calvin had no trouble with Bishops as a concept. The issue has more to do with the purpose of bishops. Are they representatives, pastors, and shepherds? Or are they ecclesial princes? The address was not simply an opportunity to extol the virtue of the Reformed tradition and take pot shots at the Papacy (though both happened); there was self critique as well. Many in the Reformed tradition have forgotten the sacramental entirely. And they have forgotten the centrality of the Word (Read the prologue to John's Gospel) Proclaimed. It is not mere exhortation, but the very presence of the Resurrected Christ.

The Very Rev. Leonid Kishkovsky was next to speak. He offered this quotation as a definition of the church. "The one who believes is in a community of faith. The one who prays is in a community of prayer. The one who loves is in a community of love. The church is a community of faith, prayer and love." But, he suggested, order and authority are a sticky wicket. There is a tension that is always implied when one realizes a local and a global Church.

The DECLARATION "DOMINUS IESUS" ON THE UNICITY AND SALVIFIC UNIVERSALITY OF JESUS CHRIST AND THE CHURCH was brought to the fore of his remarks. He reminded people that this was a difficult document to swallow for many of the Protestant tradition, but not so for the Orthodox. Though, he suggested, the Protestant were disappointed, the Orthodox position was less reactive. At least now we all know where the Roman church is. Such self-articulation helps dialogue. It does not hinder it. The Orthodox, however, do not agree with the declaration.

The Catholic/Orthodox dialogue is complicated. If there were unity, then the Bishop of Rome would hold primacy. The substance and content of "primacy" holds some challenges, however, and remains an unsettled issue. So, where then is the location of authority for the Church?

The Catholic position is that authority is found in the Bishop of Rome. The Protestant position is that authority is found in the scriptures. For the Orthodox, authority is found in the Holy Spirit. How does the Holy Spirit order the church? It is non-systematic and "a strange sight." There is to be no idol of scripture, of primacy, or of tradition. The church, instead, is historical and eschatological in nature and its structures are intended reflect this. Success may vary.

Dr. O'Mara was the last to speak. As the other two speakers all took shots at Dominus Iesus, I assume that this was the planned order all along. Dr. O'Mara said that the Church begins at baptism, a local rite and sacrament that affords membership in the Universal/Global church which exists back in time to the beginning of Creation and forward in time to the eschaton. It is a "communion of communions." The fullness of the church reveals itself in the local church as it is connected to the universal.

She then moved into some of the Catholic in-house struggles around collegiality for bishops. There is much intended, but little successfully implemented. Bishops are frustrated as they are not pastors, but are instead "plant managers to the local church." They have become administrators only. Since Vatican II there have been scattered attempts to assist in this issue and to, in turn, lessen the centrality of the Papacy. The Pope is to be Peter, the shepherd of God's sheep (Will you feed my sheep?). But this has been less and less the reality across time.

She spoke of "the gift of the Papacy" (People let loose some good natured laughter here.). Can we see authority as a gift? A gift to the whole church? And can we understand how giving and receiving such a gift might be very difficult as such a process invariably changes the gift? Some don't wish to share the gift. Some don't wish to receive it. The gift, however, is in need of repair. Dr. O'Mara suggested that in a spirit of imagination, faithfulness and perseverance, the gift of the Papacy may enrich the Universal/Global Church. We will need all Christians to help in the repair and renewal of the Papacy.

So, there you have it. Those are my (lacking) summaries of the addresses. Again, if I have misrepresented, it is not intentional. The organizers of the National Workshop are going to try to post the addresses on the website. That will be very helpful. I found the entire exercise to be remarkable. Though, there was no free church representation (likely for obvious reasons), and that frustrated me. I'll likely post my own thought soon enough.

Follow the extended link for the Question and Answer portion of the discussion.

Q: (from a Catholic priest) Would a fuller expression of the sacraments help in the articulation of the desire to share the gift of Papal authority?

A: (Dr. O'Mara) Vatican II suggested just such a posture, but implementation has been a struggle. The Catholic Church does not turn on a dime (my paraphrase).

Q: Does authority really lie in a book? In scripture?

A: (Dr. Small) No. And this is the struggle in what spoken of earlier. Authority is in preaching, the Word proclaimed and heard in Christian community.

Q: On repairing the Papicy, How do we navigate such an authority? How do we change it without watering it down so that the Pope becomes merely a figurehead?

A: (Dr. O'Mara) Pope John Paul II invited dialogue to help envision how the Papacy would serve unity. A greater de-centralization of authority is necessary (ala Orthodoxy). The church has need of a Spokesperson, just not as it has been employed in the last century or so.

(Very Rev. Kishkovsky) I confess that the current ecumenical patriarchate is also broken. It does not actually bring unity to the Orthodox churches.

Q: Would a more helpful model of the Papacy be to speak of "Petrine Ministry" instead?

A: (Very Rev. Kishkovsky) I'm not sure this is helpful. All Christians are called to Pauline and Petrine ministries. To locate all of Petrine Ministry in the office of the Bishop of Rome is our current problem and not a sollution.

Q: (Emergent church representative) About the gift of the Papacy...Can the use of the gift be dictated by the one receiving it? Cannot it be received and used at the pleasure of the recipient? Issues in copyright law may be helpful in parsing this out. A coffee cup, for example, can be used in multiple ways as desired by the recipient. We don't dictate "only coffee!" when we give them.

A: (Dr. O'Mara) There is a ministry of unity. And it has, over the years, taken many forms. Think back to the time when the Pope would coronate kings. The expressions of unity change over the years, but unity remains central. Can this be dictated by the local church? Exercised? This is a conversation for everyone, Catholics and the rest of us.

Q: How does the sociological context play into understanding the episcopal ministry? Where does theology happen here? And can we strike a balance?

A: (Dr. Small) The tension is in the relationship between congregation and region. Connectivity is the key. The Local church and the Universal/Global church are simultaneous expressions of Christ. Theology happens in this tension.

Posted by tripp at April 19, 2008 06:11 AM