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A Service of Love
Papal Primacy, the Eucharist, and Church Unity - with a new postscript from the author
Imprint: Catholic University of America Press
A crucial topic in Catholic-Orthodox ecumenical dialogue is the nature and exercise of universal primacy in the church. In 1995, Pope John Paul II expressed the hope that pastors and theologians of both churches might seek ways in which the papal ministry could accomplish "a service of love recognized by all concerned" (Ut Unum Sint). In this short and penetrating study, Paul McPartlan, a member of the international Roman Catholic-Orthodox theological dialogue, presents a proposal, carefully argued both historically and theologically, for a primacy exercising a service of love in a reconciled church, West and East.
McPartlan builds on the substantial foundation already laid in the dialogue for an understanding of the church in terms of the Eucharist. Eucharistic ecclesiology has been one of the most remarkable developments in the theological renewal of recent decades. Drawing particularly on scriptural and patristic teaching, it offers a highly promising framework for resolving this most sensitive and difficult of issues—recognizing the bishop of Rome as the focal point and servant of the Eucharistic communion among bishops. Vatican II directed that those working for reconciliation between Catholics and Orthodox pay close attention to the relationships that pertained between the Eastern churches and the see of Rome before the split of 1054. McPartlan seeks to do just that, notably incorporating the teaching of the council on the role of the papacy to craft a proposal that may commend itself to Catholics and to Orthodox.
Paul McPartlan is Carl J. Peter Professor of Systematic Theology and Ecumenism at the Catholic University of America. He is a member of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Roman Catholic church and the Orthodox Church. McPartlan also is the author of The Eucharist Makes the Church: Henri de Lubac and John Zizioulas in Dialogue and Sacrament of Salvation: An Introduction to Eucharistic Ecclesiology.
"In three short chapters, McPartlan sums up the complicated ecclesiological problem of papal primacy and its relationship to the eucharist and church unity."
~Journal of Ecumenical Studies
"This important study makes the ecclesiological thinking that has matured within the context of Catholic-Orthodox dialogue accessible to a wide readership."
~Heythrop Journal
"The primacy of the Bishop of Rome is proving to be the most difficult problem in the ecumenical dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church. This issue can be solved only if the primacy is seen not merely as a juridical reality or as an external appendix to a Eucharistic ecclesiology, but is understood as founded in just such as ecclesiology. Following this line of argument, Paul McPartlan has offered a promising proposal, for which I wish to express my gratitude."
~Cardinal Kurt Koch, President, Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity
"Msgr Paul McPartlan's book constitutes a significant contribution to the theological dialogue between the Roman Catholic and the Orthodox Churches. It combines valuable historical information with deep theological insights by presenting the development of papal primacy in the two millennia of Church history in close connection with collegiality and the Eucharist. A scholarly work with particular importance for the discussion of one of the most crucial issues in ecclesiology and ecumenism. It is warmly recommended for study by all those interested in the promotion of Christian unity."
~Metropolitan John (Zizioulas) of Pergamon
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