Customer Reviews

Being as Communion: Studies in Personhood and the Church (Contemporary Greek Theologians Series, No 4)

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Every so often a book comes along that manages to rotate and shake up your paradigm in such a way that, after the shift is over, you suddenly see things not only in a new way, but in a new way that makes far greater sense. _Being as Communion_ by Metropolitan John Zizioulas is one such book for me.

It works on several levels, bringing together what are oftentimes considered disparate strands of thought - philosophical, theological and pastoral - into a thickly weaved narrative that shows why an Orthodox understanding of the Trinity as the communion of the three persons of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is...necessary. For Zizioulas, this communion of the Trinity is the model to be embodied not only by the Church as the communion of all churches, but by the very person as well: we only are who we are when we are in communion with God and one another.

The title of the book is no mistake; Zizioulas puts himself in dialogue with some of the great philosophers of the 20th century (such as Heidegger and Levinas, the latter of whom he praises, particularly his work Totality and Inifinity). The fundamental point that Zizioulas raises about Being is that in the eucharist - in the act of communion itself! - the essential and the temporal become fused into a living harmony. Such was - and is - Christ, and such also is to be the Church and the Christian, participating in the eternal life of God while in the here and now. Being is not static, but in time and in relation.

For those that have found themselves turned off to Orthodox theology in the past due its oftentimes proclaimed self-sufficiency, Zizioulas may very well seem like a theologian that comes out of left field: his *criticisms* of Orthodox theology (and I have never read an Orthodox theologian that was critical of Orthodox theology before) are what many Western inquirers have long wanted to know: can Orthodoxy be constructively self-critical? Can Orthodoxy be open to the recognition of Western churches as viable, even if critiquing them at the same time? Zizioulas presents an unapologetic "yes" to both of these questions.

The most heartening thing about this book, however, is the fundamentally pastoral angle the Zizioulas takes. While he can discuss the Cappadocians, for example, at great length, he also sees the essentially pastoral implications of the relational, Trinitarian God: the imitation of this *as* the relational pastor. He is especially concerned with the rise of anti-clericalism in both Greece and abroad; he sees this anti-clericalism as committing the same fallacy that it seeks to fight against: the reduction of the Church to being first and foremost an institution. Yet, he also sees how the pastoral failures of the past have contributed to this by not seeking to incarnate the fundamentally relational nature of God.

The book ends with a substantive - and crucial - question. If the Church is fundamentally the communion of churches, what do we make of churches that are in ecclesiastical and/or confessional division? It is with this question that Zizioulas quite literally ends; it is an abrupt ending, too, that leaves reader in a state of suspension. Yet, I can't think of a better way to end it. From theology as the contemplation of God to the reality of a fragmented Church (especially with regard to Protestantism/s/s/s/s/s...), there is quite a tragic distance. It is in the recognition of this distance, though, that the real conversation and communication - the very word "communication" being etymologically related to both "community" and "communion" - begins.

This is a book that cuts through dogmatic and ecclesiastical divisions and asks substantive questions that are birthed from the very life of the God who is in communion with himself and, in being so, opens himself to communing with all others. At this time, I know of no other book that more urgently needs to be read; and, I know of no other book that I would more highly recommend.

Bishop Zizioulas presents a very systematic defense of the Eastern Orthodox understanding, and relevance, of Trinitarian theology. He shows how the starting point of the Trinity is not the essence, as is often the case in western theology, but with the persons- Father, Son, Spirit. Commenting on western, essense first approach, he writes:

"This interpretation represents a misinterpretation of the Patristic theology of the Trinity. Among the Greek Fathers the unity of God, the one God, and the ontological 'principle' or 'cause' of the being and life of God does not consist in the one substance of God but in the hypostasis, that is, the person of the Father. The one God is not the one substance but the Father, who is the cause both of the generation of the Son and the procession of the Spirit. Consequesntly, the ontological 'principle' of God is traced back, once again, to the person." (page40-41)

This line of thought runs thru the whole text, linking personhood with being in the ontological sense. Moreover, he draws various ecclesiological conclusions about he role of the bishop in the church catholic. He builds a eucharistic ecclesiology around some of his reading of the Greek Patristic tradition that fits well with much of modern Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic thought.

This book has had a very wide influence among theologians. SOme other books taht may be of related interest are: God For Us, by LaCugna (although I think she misses the point of the Cappadocians); The One the Three and the Many, by Gunton; The Tripersonal God, by O'Collins; The Eucharist Makes the Church, by McPartlan; The Sacrament of Salvation by McPartlan; Theology in the Russian Diaspora, by Nichols; Altogether Gift, by Downey; Eucharist and Church Fellowship in the First Four Centuries, by Werner Elert (very thorough); After Our Likeness, by Volf; Flesh of the Church, Flesh of Christ, by Tillard; God as Communion, by Fox and The God of the Gospel of John by Thompson.

THese books all concern themsleves with the ideas of how communion and fellowship are defined and experienced within the life and teachings of the Church based upon the life of God, in Whom we live, move and have our being. Some are very original. I would also recommend the works of Kallistos Ware, Volume One and Two of his Collected Works for similar themes.

Ut Unum Sint.

Enjoy!

I found this book hard to understand the first time through, but after struggling with it a second time, I am very grateful for the understanding that it gives. The main philosphical/theologiical argument is that nothing exists without communion, not even God. THis book really helped me understand the centrality of the the doctrine of the Trinity.

Let me 'fess up here: I read this book about 5 years ago. Along with many other books about theology.

But it is one of the few that I still remember pretty well, years later.

I'm in no position to say how well Zizioulas represents "orthodox" Orthodoxy, but I can say that in my opinion this is the best presentation I've ever read of Trinitarian theology, ecclesiology, and theological anthropology. Those are some massive areas, and it's remarkable that one book covered them so well.

I'd also recommend Lars Thunberg's study of Maximus the Confessor in "Microcosm and Mediator," as another one of those books that has stuck with me for a very long time. It touches on a lot of these same issues among others, showing that at the very least, Zizioulas is not "out of line."

However, both of these books are quite hard for most people (me included) to read. For a simpler introduction to modern Orthodox ecclesiology, I'd direct you to Khomiakov's essay "On the Western Confessions of Faith," available in a book edited by Schmemann, "Ultimate Questions." Of course, Bishop Kallistos (Timothy Ware) writes very clearly about all this and more in, for instance, "The Orthodox Way." A deeper, yet still crystal clear and refreshing spring is Olivier Clement's "The Roots of Christian Mysticism."

(Mea Culpa / Caveat Lector: I am not Orthodox.)

This is an excellent book. Well thought out, and solid theologically. It was literally a paradigm shifting book for me. While I don't agree with all of his Ecclesiology, his views on the Trinity, Personhood, and "Being" vs. "Function" are excellent.

It takes some getting used to. I had to "wade" through it at the beginning. It's quite technical in language. I would recommend it for some ambitious college students and graduate and above.

Worth having and re-reading.

Zizioulas' book sets the doctrine of the Trinity in its historical and theological context. He holds that the doctrine of the trinity brought about a revolution in philosophy- the concept of the person. This is an excellent book for anyone studyng this complex Christian doctrine.

While not strictly a book on the Trinity, but on Ecclesiology, it contains arguably one of the most important conceptual developments on the Trinity written in the 20th century from an Eastern Orthodox (or any denominational) perspective. Utilizing the theologies of the so-called "Cappadocian," Church Fathers Gregory of Nyssa, Gregory of Nazianzus, and Basil of Caesarea, Zizioulas explores the connections between "being," or "existence," (ontology) and the "community," or "communion," implied between the persons of the Trinity, and its implications for the Church and our conception of personhood. For example: "To say that the Son belongs to God's substance implies that substance possesses almost by definition a relational character...If God's being is by nature relational, and if it can be signified by the word 'substance' can we not then conclude almost inevitably that, given the ultimate character of God's being for all ontology, substance can be conceived only as communion?" (p.84) In other words "person/hypostasis became capable of signifying God's being in an ultimate sense." (p.88) This volume covers a wide range of theological topics, from Theology Proper, Revelation, Jesus Christ, humanity, etc... but all theological topics find their locus, says Zizioulas, in the doctrine of the Church, which finds its structure in the ontologico-communal vision of the Trinity.

While Zizioulas has been criticized on many accounts (e.g. Patristic specialists note his interpretation of the Cappadocian's Trinity of "relation," is definitely mediated via his presupposed understanding of communion and hence his turning of the Cappadocians against the Latin "Augustinian" understanding of the Trinity is both too sharp and fundamentally misunderstands pro-Nicene Trinitarianism) we should, I suspect, take Miroslav Volf's advice and attempt to take Zizioulas' theological understandings on their own merit, rather than disregarding them because their pedigree is suspect. Overall this is a must read for anyone interested in 20th century Trinitarianism as the "Zizioulas dictum," (a term coined by Stanley Grenz) that being is communion has become so commonplace since the publication of this book that it is often perpetuated without even citing Zizioulas as its source and inspiration anymore. Buy this book and read it!

This is a fine piece of systematic theology. Zizioulas builds his reflections on personhood, the church and the ministry on the basis of communion. The importance of conceiving the church as a eucharistic community is at the centre of his ecclesiology. As a Protestant, this work goes behind the the sectarian attitudes that I can see at work in my denomination, and exposes the flaw in seeking unity only through confessional means. I sense a deep sadness in his writing about divisions between Christians, an attitude that I share. I eagerly await his next work on the eschatological ontology.

Being in Communion:
Dr. Olivier Clement, professor at the Institut de Theologie Orthodoxe St. Serge in Paris speaks about human nature, "not the philosophical idea but the revealed truth, cannot belong to a solitary being. It is distributed among persons in all their variety; it resides in the great interchange of life by which each exists for and through all the others. Christian spirituality - life in the Holy Spirit - is of its very nature something that "we" share, our self-awareness being awakened by our sense of being in communion with others."

Renewal in Ecclesiology:
John Zizioulas fresh look at ecclesiology have been with us for twenty years, and has left a dramatic impact on the mind of western neo-theologians. His integral consideration of the major theological basis of orthodox Christianity, the Trinity, Christology, sacramental theology, and eschatology but it is through the Eucharist, that the Metropolitan renews with a fresh understanding, Alexandrine Soteriology and Cyril's Eucharist centered ecclessiology of the one Person of Christ visited by Luther and Barth. He considers the local church as integrally catholic, in this sense. For Zizioulas, the Church Universal is the communion of all Churches, Catholic, Evangelical, and Orthodox.

Trinitarian Communion:
The author represents an ontology of the St. Cyril Orthodox expression of Trinitarian doctrine. He shows in a systematic theology how the unity of the Trinity is within the Trinitarian personshood of the Godhead. Western theology, considers the essence first in its approach to the Mystery. This book cuts through dogmas of ecclesiastical divisions and reaches for the patristic understanding, by asking questions that matter, from the very life of the Heavenly triune God, who in his self revelation, invites his believing sons and daughters to be in communion, sustained through His Holy spirit.
How is the Trinitarian communion defined, and ecclessiastical fellowship experienced within the life of the Church, and the teaching of the Gospels? Evidently, the writings of early Church fathers, starting with the Capadocian and Cyril of Alexandria, should be reexamined in the new ecumenical approach of contemporary ontological theologians from Athanasius to Yannaras.

Metropolitan Zizioulas of Pergamon:
Zizioulas doctoral thesis, supervised by Fr Florovsky, submitted to the University of Athens, was on the Unity of the Church in the Divine Eucharist was published before forty years. Yves Congar has written that he considers the author to be "one of the most original and profound theologians of our epoch" and that he "presents a penetrating and coherent reading of the tradition of the Greek Fathers."

I read this book last year in our Orthodox Book Club group and it still sticks with me. The phrase "in all my relations" comes to mind. Indeed, "who am I"; is this not the starting place for all ontologists? What does it mean to be?

A friend answered this question for me recently saying that it was his key relationships that defined who he was, the people he envisioned surrounding him at his bedside while he lay dying. Hmmm. Yes, that's how I'd describe this book. And to hear that there's a "Zizioulas Dictum" floating out there equal to the title of this book...well, nice. Too often in the West we get into our heads about the essence of the divine and all. Fr. John gets us back to the mystery of Person of God, Persons in fact.

I read another interesting but rather awful book on the Trinity last year, The Shack. Met the author even. Young's best seller novel was written for his kids to open a door to explore the Trinity. I hope they found the Zizioulas book after that Shack gate swung open.

I don't think there's too much readable stuff on the Trinity. Fr. John's book is not easy but it will take you to a deep relational place if you are of a mind to focus on the God of the fathers and mothers of the ancient faith of the eastern church.

In one of Woody Alan's movies he picks up a time capsule photograph of Billy Graham and rifts on how this guy pictured here reported in his day to have had a personal relationship with God. Funny? I guess. Absurd? Maybe. But this is still the crux of the basic Christian gospel all the way around, the faith of our fathers.

Being is basically all about being in communion...with self, with God, with others. That's the point of this book; taking a stroll in the country. Talking to yourself; listening in on a conversation the Trinity is having at the moment.

Good book. I recommend it.