Communion Ecclesiology. Four Perspectives - II (original) (raw)

Horizons, 2002

Abstract

Following the lead of the Extraordinary Synod of 1885, which called communion “the central and fundamental idea of the Council’s documents,” Dennis Doyle presents an overview of communion ecclesiology, focusing on Roman Catholic versions. The purpose of his book is twofold: “to promote a Catholic vision of communion ecclesiology as an approach for understanding the Church” and “to mediate among the various, sometimes computing, versions to explore a vision which is broadly and inclusively Catholic” (p.1). Four convictions underlie his work: (1) “Communion ecclesiology is the one basic ecclesiology”; (2) “Communion ecclesiology can exist legitimately in different versions”; (3) “Catholic versions of communion ecclesiology need to take into account the full range of certain essential elements of the Church”; and (4) “The meaning of ‘communion ecclesiology’ is bound up with the meaning of ‘catholic”’ (p.2). Communion ecclesiology retrieves a vision of the church predominant during the first millennium and represents an alternative to an overly institutional and juridical approach to the church. It places a high value on the need for visible unity, particularly evident in shared participation in the Eucharist. Finally, it fosters a healthy interplay between unity and diversity and a theology of the universal and local churches. Doyle outlines a spectrum of six versions of communion ecclesiology and also surveys the major contemporary ecclesiologists, situating each along this spectrum. These six views are:

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