Contents

	Orthodox Outlet for Dogmatic Enquiries	Digital Books

EUCHARIST, BISHOP, CHURCH: THE UNITY OF THE CHURCH IN THE DIVINE EUCHARIST AND THE BISHOP DURING THE FIRST THREE CENTURIES

Professor Metropolitan of Pergamus and Chairman of the Athens Academy I. Zizioulas

Translated by Elizabeth Theokritoff - HOLY CROSS ORTHODOX PRESS - Brookline, Massachusetts

It is to Saint Ignatius the God-bearer that we owe most of the information that we have, regarding the significance of the Bishop in the early Church.

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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

CATALOG INC-IN-PUBLICATION DATA

Zizioulas, John, 1931-

[Ενότης της Εκκλησίας εν τη Θεία Ευχαριστία και τω Επισκόπω κατά τους τρεις πρώτους αιώνες]

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN 1-885652-51-8 (paper)

1. Lord's Supper-History--Early church, ca. 30-600.

2. Bishops--History of doctrines—early church, ca. 30-600.

3. Church—Unity-History of doctrines, ca. 30-600.

1. Title. BV823.Z5913 2001 262M212-dc21 2001024091

Posted by O.O.D.E., with the kind permission and the blessings of the Reverend fr. John Zizioulas.

Professor and Metropolitan of Pergamus and Chairman of the Athens Academy I. Zizioulas

Publication of this book was made possible, in part, by a generous donation from His Eminence Archbishop Iakovos of North and South America.

© Copyright 2001 Holy Cross Orthodox Press Published by Holy Cross Orthodox Press 50 Goddard Avenue Brookline, Massachusetts 02445.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

The publishers wish to thank Rev. Emmanuel Clapsis, Ph.D., of Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology for his invaluable assistance with aspects of this publication.

To His Eminence Archbishop Iakovos

"... The Bishop is in the form and the place of Christ's presence with his special ministry and is a successor to the holy Apostles; he is not simply "a necessity, for the preservation of order". One should be reminded of the important analysis made by the Metropolitan of Pergamon, Dr. John Zizioulas, in his classic study "The Unity of the Church in the Divine Eucharist and the Bishop". In this study, one can find all of the essential material which indicates that the Bishop does not merely preside over the Divine Eucharist in order to impose order on the charismas of the Christians, but that he actually comprises the unity of the Church, together with the Divine Liturgy..."

-- Rev.Metropolitan of Nafpaktos, Fr. Hierotheos Vlachos--

PREFACE

PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION

ABBREVIATIONS

INTRODUCTION:

The unity of the Church in the Divine Eucharist and the Bishop as a fundamental historical question

PART ONE

PRESUPPOSITIONS: The Relationship between Church, Eucharist and Bishop in the Consciousness of the Primitive Church

1. The Divine Eucharist and "The Church of God"

1. The connection of the Eucharist with the initial appearance of the term "church"

2. The connection of the Eucharist with the original consciousness regarding the unity of the Church

2. The "President" of the Eucharist as "Bishop" of the "Church of God"

1. The identification of Eucharistic unity with the canonical unity of the Church

2. The elevation of the "president" of the Eucharist to "Bishop" of the Church

PART TWO

FORMATION: Unity in the Divine Eucharist and the Bishop, and the Formation of the "Catholic Church"

1. One Eucharist - One Bishop ιn Each Church

1. The one Eucharist under the leadership of the Bishop and the "Church in the household"

2. The one Eucharist under the leadership of the Bishop and the Christians in the countryside

3. The application of the principle of one Eucharist and one Bishop in all geographical regions. Some problems with Eusebius' Ecclesiastical History

2. The Divine Eucharist, the Bishop and the Unity of the "catholic Church." Implications of Unity in the Eucharist and the Bishop for the Formation of the Catholic Church

1. The Divine Eucharist, the Bishop and the catholicity of the local Church

2. The Eucharist, the Bishop and the position of the "Catholic Church" vis-a-vis heresies and schisms

3. The Eucharist, the Bishop and the unity of the "Catholic Church throughout the world"

Summarizing the conclusions of Part Two, we may make the following observations

PART THREE

DEVELOPMENTS: The Development of the One Eucharist "Under the Leadership of the Bishop" Into Many Eucharistic Assemblies Led by Priests. The Emergence of the Parish and Its Relationship to the Unity of the Episcopal Diocese.

1. The Emergence of the Parish

1. The problem of the emergence of the parish as it appears from comparative study of the sources

2. The historical preparation and the first appearance of the parish

2. The Appearance of the Parish and the Unity of the Church in "One Eucharist, Under the Leadership of the Bishop"

1. The relation of the Eucharistic unity of the parish to episcopal Eucharistic unity during the transitional period when parishes were first appearing

2. The relationship of the Eucharistic unity of the pansh to episcopal Eucharistic unity once the institution of parishes was established

To sum up the conclusions of the Part III, we may make the following points

PART FOUR

GENERAL CONCLUSIONS

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

Digital text by: K.N., G.G, B.K., N.M.

Article published in English on: 29-10-2007.

Last update: 11-3-2014.