Greetings for the “Side Event” to the Synod
“Listening to the East”.
Synodality in Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Church Traditions
10 October 2023, 19:30
Aula of the Augustinianum, Rome
Your Eminences, Your Excellencies,
Dear Participants in the Synod, dear Fraternal Delegates,
Reverend Fathers, Sisters and Brothers,
The publication of this book at the beginning of the 16th General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops is timely. Its inspiration comes from a conviction expressed by the Holy Father Pope Francis in his Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium: “In the dialogue with our Orthodox brothers and sisters, we Catholics have the opportunity to learn more about the meaning of episcopal collegiality and their experience of synodality” (EG, n. 246).
Inspired by this affirmation, the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity proposed to the General Secretariat of the Synod to hold conferences on the synodal experiences of the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Churches, and entrusted the Pro Oriente Foundation and the Angelicum’s Institute for Ecumenical Studies with organizing them. These international conferences, held in November 2022 under the title “Listening to the East”, were intended to be an ecumenical contribution to the current synodal process of the Catholic Church. More than one hundred theologians, historians, and canonists, from different Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox traditions, were invited to present the synodal experiences of their Churches, through keynote speeches, case studies and workshops.
Some of these theologians are Fraternal Delegates to the Synod. I would like to mention His Eminence Metropolitan Job of Pisidia, Co-chair of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church, and His Eminence Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, member of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches.
This volume, entitled “Listening to the East. Synodality in Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Church Traditions”, brings together the proceedings of the conference, with a background question: what can Catholics learn from the Orthodox understanding and experience of synodality? The book makes clear, first of all, that Catholics have already received a great deal in this respect from Orthodox theology, starting with the very notion of synodality. Undoubtedly, Catholic theology's rediscovery of synodality was largely the fruit of its contacts with Orthodoxy, beginning with the idea of sobornost' disseminated in the West as early as the 1930s, until the well-known Eucharistic ecclesiology promoted in particular by the late Metropolitan John Zizioulas, who helped Catholics rediscover that synodality is an essential dimension of the Church.
In addition to this fundamental rediscovery, the book illustrates that it is largely through contact with the Orthodox that Catholics have become more aware that synodality is founded on a koinonia ecclesiology rooted in a sacramental understanding of the Church. Indeed, synodality should be understood as a “consequence of the sacramental nature of the Church”, as the title of the Ravenna Document of Catholic-Orthodox international dialogue makes clear.
The book “Listening to the East” also demonstrates that it is largely through contact with Orthodoxy that Catholic theology rediscovered a broad conception of synodality. Certainly, in the Orthodox tradition, synodality is not limited to the convocation of synods. but means the active participation of all faithful in the life and mission of the Church, based on what Greek theology calls the ekklesiastikè syneidesis, the “conscience of the Church”. In this sense, one can say that synodality is closely linked to “baptismal ecclesiology” as well as to Eucharistic ecclesiology.
Finally, it is also in dialogue with Orthodoxy that Catholic theologians have become more aware of the close interdependence between synodality and primacy at all levels of the ecclesial life, as underlines once again the latest document of the Catholic-Orthodox theological dialogue recently adopted in Alexandria.
These are just some of the theological insights Catholics have learned from their dialogue with their Orthodox brethren. But the book is not limited to mere theoretical reflections: it contains numerous practical concrete illustrations of the synodal experience of the Orthodox churches, concerning, for example, the permanent episcopal synod, metropolitan provinces and lay participation at different levels of church life and mission.
The second part of the book is dedicated to the Oriental Orthodox Churches. While the Eastern Orthodox ecclesiology may be quite well-known in Catholic theological circles, we cannot say the same about the Oriental Orthodox approaches. Indeed, we know very little about the understanding and practices of synodality in the Armenian, Assyrian, Coptic, Ethiopian, Syriac and Malankara Orthodox traditions, as well as about their interactions. As far as I know, this volume is the first providing in a systematic way insights on the synodal experience of the different Oriental Orthodox traditions, including the participation of laity, of women and of youth, and the synodal experience of monasticism.
Contrary to those who think that synodality is a new ecclesial reality, the experience of the Oriental Orthodox Churches demonstrates that synodality has been always at the core of the ecclesial life of these venerable Churches through the centuries. Furthermore, this synodal life has been preserved even in difficult historical circumstances faced by them in different contexts and periods. We can say that it is precisely this synodal life which helped the Oriental Orthodox Churches to preserve themselves, to flourish, and to be witness to the Gospel.
In short, the readers of this book will realize anew that in Orthodoxy there is not one synodality, but various “synodalities”: not a single understanding and uniform experience of synodality, but diverse synodal practices adapted to different ecclesial cultures. Beyond their diversity, however, we find in these various Orthodox synodal practices a common spirit characterizing the whole life and mission of the Church. It is this spirit, perhaps more than particular structures or procedures, that Catholics could undoubtedly draw inspiration from.
For me the most important conclusion of this book is to be found in a phrase uttered by the Holy Father, precisely in connection with the conference “Listening to the East”, as Pope Francis received His Holiness Mar Awa III, Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East: “The journey of synodality undertaken by the Catholic Church is and must be ecumenical, just as the ecumenical journey is synodal” (19 November 2022).
In the same line, while receiving some weeks ago His Holiness Baselios Marthoma Mathews III, Catholicos of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, Pope Francis, anticipating the presence of His Eminence Mar Barnabas here present, said: “I am pleased that a fraternal delegate from your Church will participate in the next session of the Assembly of the Synod of Bishops. I am convinced that we can learn much from the age-old synodal experience of your Church”. And the Holy Father added: “In a certain sense, the ecumenical movement is contributing to the ongoing synodal process of the Catholic Church, and it is my hope that the synodal process can, in turn, contribute to the ecumenical movement. Synodality and ecumenism are in fact two paths that proceed together, united by a common goal, that of communion, which means a more effective witness by Christians “so that the world may believe” (Jn 17:21).
Last, but not least, I would like to express my deep appreciation to the Pro Oriente Foundation and the Institute for Ecumenical Studies of the Angelicum for this academic initiative at the service of the whole Church, to the scientific committees and to the editors of this volume. May this publication inspire us on our “walking together” towards full communion, accomplishing the will of the Lord.