Aristotle Papanikolaou. Eucharist, Councils and Primacy

Abstract

My task in this essay is simple: to critically examine the relation between councils and episcopal primacy in light of eucharistic ecclesiology. The critical lens will be on both eucharistic ecclesiology (is it theologically correct to say that the church is most church in the celebration of the Eucharist?), and on conclusions about the relation between councils and episcopal primacy (even if the church is realized in the eucharistic celebration, does the logic of eucharistic ecclesiology lead toward the affirmation of a universal episcopal primate who presides over a pan-Orthodox council?). The hope is that this question will not be driven by the psycho-dynamics of self-identification vis-à-vis the proximate other, and that theology could serve a critical tool that challenges the Church to be the Church.