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Philip Kariatlis St Andrew’s Greek Orthodox Theological College
Abstract: Twentieth century understandings of the Church from within Orthodox circles pre-eminently focused much attention on what came to be known as ‘communion ecclesiology’, and more specifically examining this important ecclesiological teaching almost exclusively from within a ‘eucharistic’ dimension. In this way, the claim that the Church is constituted when the faithful gather together to celebrate the Eucharist was presupposed and almost universally accepted. Contemporary Orthodox ecclesiology, however, is beginning to put forward other understandings which see the Church from a broader sacramental and ascetical perspective, in this way wanting to move away from a strict identification of the Church exclusively with the Eucharist. Whilst not rejecting the paradigm of ‘communion’, or for that matter ‘eucharistic ecclesiology’, Harkianakis, an Orthodox hierarch and author of a considerable number of writings in ecclesiology from the last century, put forward a different, and rather straightforward—yet at the same time profound—teaching of the Church’s claim to truth, based on God’s abiding presence within her, which, unfortunately, is yet to be fully appreciated. This article will critically examine the ecclesiology of Harkianakis, detailing his understanding of the Church as the place par excellence where the truth of Christ’s abiding presence within the world throughout time is manifested. What will surface is a wonderfully inclusive understanding of the Church, which reveals the important role of all within the Church, both clergy and baptised laity, in the task of with upholding the truth of Christ in the world.
