Urs von Arx, Pàul Avis, Mattijs Ploeger(eds.), Towards Further Convergence:Anglican and Old CatholicEcclesiologíes, Beiheft zurInternationalen Kirchlichen Zeitschrift 96 (2006),7-27 Catholicity,Apostolicity, the Trinity and the Eucharist in Old CatholicEcclesiology
Mauijs Ploeger
1. The Old Catholic EcclesiologicalTradition To understandthe Old Catholic ecclesiologicaltradition, it is helpful to distinguishthree periods within its development.As all historicalperiods, theseare not clear-cutin time. Neithercan we saythat the ideasprevailing in one period are entirely absentin one or both of the others.The three periodsonly serveas an aid to understandthe gradualestablishment of a consistentOld Catholicecclesiology.
Thefirst period: Differentbackgrounds coming together The first period is the time beforethe Old CatholicChurches found each otherin a commontheological approach. One has to keepin mind thatthe variousOId CatholicChurches come from differentbackgrounds. These backgroundsresulted into different theologicalapproaches, which are partlystill recognisable. Historically,for example,the Old CatholicChurch of the Netherlands hadhardly any interest in definingitself as a Churchseparated from Rome. The Dutch Church has originatedfrom a gradualdeepening rift between two groupsof Catholicswithin theNetherlands over a longperiod of time, 'Schism particularlyduring the seventeenthcentury. The fact thratthe of Utrecht'iscalled that, and is datedexactly tn 1J23,obscures the fact that DutchOld Catholicself-understanding has, at leastuntil the secondhalf of the nineteenthcentury, not beendefined as being a churchseparated from Rome.One could rather say that, in theeighteenth centr.try and a largepart of the nineteenth,Dutch Old Catholicecclesiology was determinedby tenaciousefforts to prove that the Dutch Old Catholicswere a legitimate partof theRoman Catholic Church. They upheld their own ecclesiological tradition,rooted in suchmovements as Conciliarism and Episcopalism, as legitimateopinions within theCatholic Church.r
I Dick J. Schoon,Van bissclzoppeli.ike CLeresie tor Oud-KatholiekeKerk. Bijdrage tot de geschiedenisvan lrct katlrclicisntein Nederlanclin de I9de eeuv,(Nijmegen: ValkhofPers, 2004).
Beiheftzu ll(Z 96 (?006),7 -27 The German-speakingOld Catholic Churcheshave anotherhistory. Unlike the Dutch Church,which formally claims to be the continuation of the CatholicChurch in the Netherlandsincluding its historicepiscopal sees,the Churches in Germany,Switzerland and Austria (and later Czecho- slovakia)established themselves as provisional dioceses (Notkirchen) for thoseCatholics who could not acceptthe new dogmasof the FirstVatican Council(1870) on the Pope'suniversal jurisdiction and infallibility. It is understandablethat the ecclesiologyof theseChurches was shapedby a consciousself-understanding including the needfor practicalreforms, whereasthe Dutch were usedto their oppositeattitude of emphasising their conformitywith RomanCatholic theology and practice. Not surprisingly,when theseChurches joined eachother in the Union of Utrecht(1889), it took solnedecades before mutual trust and,on that - - basis,a common theological,ecclesiological, and to a certainextent spiritual approachwas reached.These decadesbetween 1889 and the mid-1920sare the first of the threeperiods I would like to distinguishin the formationof what the Swisstheologian Urs von Arx (born 1943)has called'theOld Catholicmainstream theology'.2 A third group of Old CatholicChurches has still anotherbackground. They joined the Union of Utrecht becauseof issueswhich can be sum- 'ethnicity'. marisedunder the headingof The most notableexample of this groupis the PolishNational Catholic Church in Americaand Canada, which emergedout of the desireto live PolishCatholic spirituality under polish clergy and bishops.Again, this differentbackground resulted in a differentapproach to theology,ecclesiology, and spirituality. One effect is that at leastthe AmericanChurch has never understood itself alonglines comparableto the German-speakingtradition of Old Catholicism'Unlike the Dutch Church,which in the periodalready mentioned, between 1889 andthe mid- 1920s,wholeheartedly became a memberof the Old Catholic movement,the AmericanChurch has not really beenintegrated theologi- cally, ecclesiologically,and spirituallyinto the Union,3which partly ex- plainswhy it hasrecently ceased to be a memberChurch of the Union of Utrecht.
'The 2Urs vonArx, Old CatholicChurches of theUnion of Utrecht',in: PaulAvis (ed.),TheChristian Church: An InÍroductionto theMa.ior Traditions (London: SPCK, 2002),pp. 157-185,at P, 160. 'struktuneform - 3 Cf. Urs von Arx, der UtrechterUnion verschiedeneDenkmo- delle',IKZ8l (1997),pp.87-115, at p. 114.
8 Catholicity,Apostolicity, the Trinity andthe Eucharistin Old Cath
Thesecond period: A stableand self-consciousOld Catholicmainstream theology As thefirst periodin the historyof Old Catholicecclesiology I haveiden- tifiedthe end of the nineteenthand the beginningof thetwentieth century, in which the Dutch and the German-speakingtraditions were confronted 'maiustream'Old with eachother and gradually merged into the Catholic theologicalapproach. The secondperiod is the time in which this main- streamtheology was dominant, approximately from thenineteen twenties to thenineteen seventies. It is a periodmarked by a stable,self-conscious Old Catholic self-understanding.This period is personiÍiedby Andreas Rinkel (1889-1979), who was the Archbishop of Utrecht during the long period from l93l to 1970. His friend and colleague,Urs Ktiry (1901-1976),Bishop of the Old Catholic Church (Chrístkatholische Kirche)of Switzerlandfrom 1955to 1972,is the otheïkey representative of this period.
The third period: Continuity and variety, Orthodox influences
The third period within the Old Catholic ecclesiologicaltradition has grown from the second,but is markedby two characteristicsof its own. On theone hand, from the 1970sonwards, the stability and self-conscious- nessof Old Catholicmainstrearl theology has given way to a greatervari- ety of approaches,so that it hasbecome more difficult to identify the main line of Old Catholictheology, ecclesiology, and spirituality.4 On the other hand,there has always been - andthere still is - a schoolwhich continues the 'Old Catholicproprium' of the first andsecond periods,s but in a way recognisablyinfl uenced by Orthodoxecclesiological thought, particularly its schoolof 'eucharisticecclesiology'. As this paperis devotedto 'Catholicity,Apostolicity, Trinitarian and EucharisticConcepts of the Church', the specificOld Catholicapproach to catholicityand apostolicitywill be largelyfound in the secondperiod,
a Urs von Arx calls thesedifferent approaches'no longer unquestionably recog- nisablyOId Catholic' (nicht mehr unbedingterkennbar altkatholisch); Urs von Arx, 'Der orthodox-altkatholischeDialog. Anmerkungen zu einerschwierigen Rezeption', IKZ89 (1991),pp.184-224,at p. 188. s Von Arx, 'Der orthodox-altkatholischeDialog', p. 187 (altkatholischesProp- rium). whereasfor trinitarian and eucharisticconcepts of the Church we will haveto turn to the third Period.
2. Catholicity
Qualitative catho lic itY The representativesof Old Catholic mainstreamtheology are united in 'qualitative' 'quantative' their aiproachof catholicityin its ratherthan its meaning.6Andreas Rinkel. for example,says that catholicityshould not be seenas a geographic,but asa soteriologicalterm. Catholicity does not meanthat the Churchis a uniform institutiongeographically, but it means that it is the Church'smission to bring salvationto all. Within this theo- logical or soteriologicalunity, there is room for local variety and adapta- 'unity tion.Rinkel pleads withoutuniformitY'.7 In a similarway, Urs KUry saysthat the Churchis not catholicbecause it is presenteverywhere, but because,wherever it is present,it lives'accordingto thewhole', that is, it lives the whole faith. Accordingto Ktiry, the affirmationthat the Church is catholicmeans that whereverthe Churchis, it is the catholicChurch' In - - otherwords, every local Churchis the catholicChurch if or because it livesthe whole faith. In a secondarysense, catholicity does have to do with geographicaluniversality, in this respect,that the catholicityof all local Churchesis the samecatholicity. The fullnessof Christ is present"'in all places"in essentiallythe sameway''8
Thecatholicity of all local Churches This 'qualitative'understandingof catholicityis takenup by the contem- poraryOld Catholicschool of Lokatkirchenekklesiologieor Ortskirchen- ekklesiologie(ecclesiology of thelocal Church). This ecclesiologyregards thecatholic Church as the localChurch, understood as the diocese, regard- lessof whetherit consistsof onecommunity or a smalleror largernumber
o Urs KUry,Die altkatholischeKirche. Ihre Geschichte,ihre Lehre,ihr Anliegen, Die Kirchender Welt 3 (Stuttgart:Evangelisches Verlagswerk, 1966), p' 263' 'Dogmatische 7Andreas Rinkel, theologie',mimeographed edition 1956,vol. III, pp. 178,191 (eenheid zonder uniformiteit),221,226-227 ' 8 Ki.iry,Die altkatholischeKirche, pp. 263 (dem Ganzengemàss) ,264 ('an allen Orten'in gleicher[wesensàhnlicher] Weise)'
10 Catholicity,Apostolicity, the Trinity andthe Eucharistin Old QatholicEc.l"t of parishes.Each local Church - comprisingthe entire people of God in its 'place' areaor (Ort), with all its variouscharisms and ministries, includ- ing the ministriesof the bishop,the presbyteriumand the deacons- is the catholicChurch. And becauseeach such local Church is the samecatholic Church,all local Churchesare in communionwith eachother.e This ecclesiologyof the local Churchcan be tracedback to the first periodin thehistory of Old Catholicecclesiology, that is, theperiod before theemergence of aninternational Old Catholicmainstream theology. Both the origins of the Dutch Church and the origins of the German-speaking Churchesinclud,e this fundamentalprinciple of regardlrngthe Church pri- marily as the local - diocesanor national- Church.The eighteenth-cen- tury efforts of the Dutch Church to defend the independentrights of the localChurch were rooted in theconviction that jurisdiction is essentially givento the whole Church,to the whole peopleof God, who grantits ex- erciseto the diocesanbishop.r0 The late nineteenth-centuryefforts of the German-speakingOld Catholicsto come to termswith ecclesialidentity 'new'self-understanding asopposed to the of theRoman Catholic Church after 1870were rootedin the convictionthat every diocese- every local Church- is thecatholic Church.rr Both traditionshave in commonthat the local Churchis regardedas the basicentity of ecclesiologicalthought. It is thereforenot surprisingthat the Dutch primarilyjurisdictional, canon- ist approachand the perhapsmore theologicalapproach of the German- speakingChurches were able to find each other in the internationalOld Catholicmainstream theology.
eThis principlecan be found e.g.in: Kurt Stalder,Die WirklichkeitChristi erfah- ren. EkklesiologischeUntersuchutxgen und ihre Bedeutwtgfiir dÈeExistenzvon Kirche heute(ZJJ,rich: Benziger, 1984), pp. 107,212-213,111,206,241-242. 'el r0Jan Hallebeek,Alonso Tostado':His doctrineon jurisdiction and its influ- encein the Church of Utrecht,Publicatieserie Stichting Oud-Katholiek Seminarie29 (Amersfoort:Stichting Centraal Oud-Katholiek Boekhuis, 1 997) ; JanHallebeek,' Die Autonomieder Ortskirche im Denken vonZeger Bernardvon f;spen',lKZ92 (2002), pp.7699. rrThis insightcan be tracedback to the first GermanOld Catholicbishop, Joseph 'Das HubertReinkens (1821-1896);cf. HerwigAldenhoven, ekklesiologischeSelbst- verstàndnisder Altkatholischen Kirchen', ÓsterreichischesAnchiv fiir Kirchenrecht 'Der 31 (1980),pp. 401430, at pp. 410411; Urs vonArx, ekklosiologischeCharakter derUtrechter Union', IKZ84 (1994),pp.20-61, at p. 32 n. 19.
il Catholicity defined 'qualitative' What is the definition of this catholicity of every local Church?The two classicalrepresentatives of Old Catholic mainstream theology - Rinkel and Ktiry - define catholicity along thesethree lines: faith or doctrine,organisation or ministry, and liturgy or sacraments.l2 Again accordingto Rinkel and Ki.iry,these three aspects of the Church's catholicityhave to be seenin the light of the Early Church. 'catholic', For doctrineto be Rinkelrequires it to be in tunewith Scrip- 'the ture interpretedaccording to what he calls line of faith (Glaubensli- 'cath- nie)Nrcaea- Constantinople- Chalcedon'.What he meansis that olic' faith has to be biblical faith, interpretedwithin the contextof the trinitarianand christological dogmas of the Early Church.For Rinkel,the Nicene creed is both the necessaryand the only necessaryprofession of thecatholic faith.r3 This understandingof the catÏrolicityof thefaith asthe faith of the Early Church is elaboratedby Ktiry in his understandingof ecumenism.For Kiiry, the Old Catholicapproaoh to ecumenismis what 'the he calls ecumenismof theEarly Church'(die attkirchliche Ókumene). When eachChurch reforms itself accordingto tnrebasic principlesof the Early Church,in the end everyChurch will recogniseevery other Church as essentiallyidentical.la Thus, catholicity is firStto be regainedby each Church reforming itself accordingto the pattern of the Early Church, so thatfull communionbetween the Churches can be realisedby recognising the alreadypresent catholicity of the otherChurch as theologically- not necessarilyculturallyt-s - identical with one'sown. Catholicity of organisationor ministry is in the Old Catholic tradi- tion always definedby allegianceto the threefoldapostolic ministry of bishops,priests, and deacons.In the contextof this paper,this themewill be treatedbriefly as we come to the apostolicsuccession. Moreover, a separatepaper on episcopacywill be presentedduring this conference.
12Rinkel, 'Dogmatische theologie', vol. III, pp. 219,221,231Kiiry, Die altka- tholischeKirche, p. 264. 'Unsere 13Rinkel, 'Dogmatische theologie', vol. lII,233-235; AndreasRinkel, Problemeim ókumenischentheologischen Gespràch' , IKZ 38 (1948),pp.236-250. raKtiry, Die altkatholischeKirche, pp' 361-362' lsVon Arx, 'Derekklesiologische Charakter" p. 33.
T2 Catholicity,Apostolicity, the Trinity andthe Eucharistin Old CatholicEcclesiologY
Catholicityof liturgy or sacramentsmeans, in the light of the Early Churchand again according to Rinkeland Kiiry, the primacy of Baptism andthe Eucharist. The Old Catholic understands theChurch to be a visible 'the Church.Baptism, says Rinkel, is widestboundary of the one Church'. In a sense,every baptisedperson belongs to the catholic Church. But, 'The as Rinkel says, fullnessof Christianlife is more than membership by baptismt...] and that fullnessis not everywherepresent to the same extent'.For Rinkel, the Eucharistis the sacramentin which the Church experiencesa'double koinonia'- with the Lord andwith one another.16 For Ktiry, the life of the Churchis situatedbetween Baptism as its basis andthe Eucharist as its summit.t1 Later in thispaper I will dealmore fully with this sacramentalunderstanding of the Church.
Conclusion The Old Catholicunderstanding of catholicityis closelylinked to the Old Catholicemphasis on the local Church.The local Church,understood as the diocese,is the catholicChurch. Because (and insofar as) catholicity is the samein all local Churches,catholicity also implies communion betweenthe local Churches.Consequently, the particularlyOld Catholic view of ecumenismis for local catholicChurches to recogniseother local catholicChurches as having the samecatholicity. Marks of catholicityare trinitarianfaith, apostolicministry, and the sacramentsof Baptismand the Eucharist.
3.Apostolicity 'apostolic Froman ecclesiological and ecumenical perspective, the suc- cession'is the most challengingaspect of the apostolicityof the Church. One of the theologicaland practicalbarriers between Churches remains theordained ministry, particularly the question whether or not theministry 'ministry shouldbe 'in theapostolic succession', and the question what in the apostolicsuccession' means.
róRinkel, 'Dogmatische theologie', vol. III, pp.229,244; vol' IV p. 108' r7Ktiry, Die altkatholische Kirche, p.217 .
r3 'apostolic Themeaning of succession' in commu- Fromthe beginningof their existenceas Churchqs no longer of nionwith Rome,th; Old CatholicChurches have retained the ministry - atthe bishops,priests, and deacons. Tendencies which arose for example asa relic .*rr!rn.e of the SwissChurch - to regardepiscopal ministry have from centralistRoman Catholic times which shquldbe abolished' qf Catholictheo- from theoutset been countered by theawareness theOId Kiiry's words' logicalleaders that the Otd CatholicChurches should, in upon'catholic not be basodupon politicat liberalism (Liberalismus) but ecclesiogenesiJ'(katholische Kirchwerdung)'t8 'in theap- In whatsense do thesebishops, priests, and deacons stand old catholic ostolicsuccession'? It is the continuousconvictÉon of the 'apostolic are ecclesiologicaltradition that apostolicityand succession' of God'The characteristicsof the churchas a whole,the wholepeople asthe Church Churchis apostolic,says Rinkel, when it is thesalne Church 'apostolic is notthe of theapostles. For this apostolicity,the succession' andunity only criierion,neither is it its guarantee.Catholiicity, holiness, areequally important when a churchwants to bq apostolic're Rinkel How,then, is'apostolic succession' understqod? Historically' the continuity makesa distinctionbetween three interpretatiorls: firstly, secondly' of bishopsin oneparticular see that was foundedl by an apostle; areexercised by the continuityof 7h"Tunttions of everyapostle, which 'transmission' 'power'through everybishop; ana tniiaty, the of apostolic which ordination.Rinkel is particularlycritical of thelAtter interpretation, 'mechanical"'sacerdotal' 'golden that he callsthe theoryof the channel' an integral detachesthe ministryfrom the church of whicll it shouldbe part.Rinkel affirms the second interpretation: apqstolic succession as con- iinuitybetween what the apostles did andwhat the bishops do' Moreover, of the he callsa,postolic ,u.."rrion the expression,tlrough the bishop, the apostoliciiyof rheChurch.Heemphasises the insoluble bond between Churchand the bishop - nullaecclesia sine episcopo andnullus episcopus the sine ecclasia- andrÈgards the apostolicsucce'sion as the signthat wholeChurch remains faithful to theapostolic tfadition'zo
1978), r8Urs Ktiry, Hiytenbriefe (Allschwil: ChristkatholiScher Schriften-Verlag, o.230. reRinkel, 'Dogmatische theologie', vol' III, pp' 196'22'7' ,Dogmatische 20Rinkel, theologie"vol. III, pp. 192193,202,205,237-241'
t4 Catholicity,Apostolicity, the Trinity andthe Eucharistin Old CatholicEcclesiology
Regardingnon-episcopal ministry or ministry not standingin the tra- ditionalapostolic succession, Rinkel refrainsfrom a verdict.He saysthat 'it we shouldnot constructsuch a closedconcept of ministry that renders the work of the Holy Spirit, which revealsitself in other Churcheswith- out this so-calledapostolic succession, incomprehensible'. On the other hand,Rinkel hasalways considered episcopal ministry to be essential.In view of the recentecumenical use of the term episkope,it is interestingto notethat Rinkel neveraccepted bearers of episkopeif their functionswere only administrativeor basedupon ecclesiastrcallaw. For him, episcopal ministry shouldbe regardedas essentialto any conceptof Church and ministry.2l
'apostolic Thepresent Old Catholicposition on succes.sion' We canconclude that Rinkel hada balancedview of the apostolicsucces- sion.On the other hand we may ask whetherthis nuancedapproach has 'pipe-line' had any practicaladvantage compared to a more traditional theory.In practice,the Old CatholicChurch has always emphasised epis- copalministry in the apostolicsuccession. It is hardto tell whetheror not contemporaryOld Catholicecclesiologists allow a wider interpretationof 'succession'. the conceptof It is true that, as the Dutch theologianMar- tien Parmentier(born 1947)has written, the clarity of Rinkel's statements 'has not so often beenheard in Old Catholiccircles over the last twenty years'.zzBut it is equallytrue that the Old CatholicChurch has, until now, upheldits allegianceto episcopacyin the apostolicsuccession. In the meantime,it should be noted that Old Catholic ecclesiolo- gists- perhapsavoiding the question of thenecessity of episcopacy- have contributedto reflectionsabout the ways of exercisingthe ministry of a bishop.23And perhapsI may add that Old Catholicbishops have tried to
2rRinkel,'Dogmatischetheologie', vol, III, pp. 238,241;vol. IV p. 161. 'Die 22Martien Parmentier, altkatholischeEkklesiologie und das Porvoodoku- ment',IKZ90 (2000),pp.30-49, at p.45. 'Episcopus 23Cf., e.g.,Jan Visser, oecumenicus',in: Coen van Kasteel,PeterJ. Maan, Martien F.G. Parmentier(eds.), Kracht in zwakheidvan eenkleine wereldkerk. De Oud-KatholiekeUnie van Utrecht (Amersfoort:Stichting Cen[raal Oud-Katholiek Boekhuis,1982), pp. 89-100;Jan Visser, 'Episcopacy Today:An Old CatholicView', in: PeterMoore (ed.),Bishops: But WhatKind? Reflectionson Episcopacy(London: SPCK,1982), pp.41-50.
15 live episcopacyin sucha way that it contributedto the ecclesiologicaland ecumenicalunderstanding of what episcopacyÍnight mean, Neventheless,it remains unclear what the actualposition of Old Catho- Iic ecclesiologyis when it comesto the ecumenicallypressing question of ministry within or outsidethe traditionalapostolic succession. As the - Old Catholic dialoguetext suggests,the Old Catholic Church Orthodox 'apostolic hasa broadinterpretation of apostolicsuccession in the senseof tradition',but regardsand maintains the (traditional)episcopal succession as the expressionof this (broader)apostolic tradition.2a In other words, it seemsthat Rinkel's balancedbut firm line ig continuedin present-day Old Catholicecclesiology. As the Germantheologian Gtinter Esser (born 'how Ig4g)hassaid, Old Catholictheology has still to clarify theministry of the bishopis to be classifiedwithin the tensionbetween the "esse"and the"bene esse" of theChurch'.2s
Conclusion 'apostolicity', Under tkreheading of I have confined myself to some thoughts on the Old Catholic interpretationof the apostolic succession' Apostolic successionhas to do with the wholo Church,not just with the ordainedministry. In this sense,apostolic succession is the continuitybe- tween the Church of the apostlesand the prespntChurch. In its more re- strictedsense, apostolic succession has to do with the ordainedministry, but still in this sense,that the apostolicministry of thebishop expresses the apostolicityof his Church.The ordainedministry is part of the apostolic successionbecause there is continuitybetween the tasks of theapostles and the tasksof the bishops.Although this comesclose to an understandingof 'apostolic apostoli,csuccession as tradition',the Old CatholicChurch has
2aUrs von Arx (ed.),Koinonia auf altchristlicherBasis. Deutsche Gesamtausgabe der gemeinsamenTexte des orthodox-altkatholischenDialogs 1975-1987mit franzd- sischerund englischerabersetzung, Beiheft zu IKZ79 (1989),pp.74-75.For a criti- 'Ekklesiologische cal Old Catholicassessment of thistext seeChristian Oeyen, Fragen in denorthodox-altkatholischen Kommissionstexten',lKZ79 (1989)' pp'237-265,at p.245. 'Anmerkungen z.sGUnter Esser, zum altkatholisch-lutherischenDialog', in: Hans Gerny,Harald Rein, Maja Weyermann(eds.), Die Wunzelaller Theologie:Sentire cum Ecclisia. Festschrift zum 60. Geburtstagvon (Jrs von Arx (Bern: Stámpfli, 2003), pp.348-365,at p. 364 (wie dasBischofsamt [...] in den Spannungsbogenzwischen 'bene 'esse'und esse'derKirche einzuordnen ist)'
16 Catholicity,Apostolicity, the Trinity andthe Eucharistin Old CatholicEcclesiology alwaysmaintained the historicepiscopate in the apostqlicsuccession (in itstraditional sense) as the expression of this apostolic tradition. It seems thatthis traditional aspect of theapostolic succession is,although no more than a part, still an indispensablepart of the Old Catholic interpretation of apostolicity.
4. A TFinitarian Concept of the Church The basisfor the Old Catholic understandingof catn-rolicityand apos- tolicity was found in the secondperiod of the history of Old Catholic ecclesiology- the period of the internationalOld CaÉholicmainstream theology from the nineteentwenties to the seventies.For the trinitarian andeucharistic concepts of the Churchwe haveto turn Éothe third period, the period from the seventiesonwards, in which, on the one hand,Old Catholic self-understandingbecame less unified in its expressions,but in which, on the other hand,a schoolof trinitarianand eucharisticeccle- siologydeveloped out of the previousperiod, stimulated particularly by Orthodoxecclesiological thought.
An ethosof communion Within Old Catholicecclesiology, it has beenthe Swisstheologian Kurt Stalder(1912-1996) who first introducedthe followiing consistentline of thought- that Christianfaith meansreconciliation of God with hu- mankind, and of humans with one another;that, therefore,salvation can be describedas the restorationof communion;ttrat the fullnessof this communion is the inner-trinitariancommunion of love; and that Christian living-in-communionis participationin the inner-trinitarian life. The scripturalbasis of this trinitarianecclesiology is John 17:22, where Jesussays to the Father,'The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one'. Trinitarian ecclesiologyinterprets this as participationof the divine personsin each other and partícipationof all Christiansin this trinitarian communion.26
26Stalder, Die WirklichkeitChristi erfahren,p. 83 andpassip,
17 Probably one of the best-knownOrthodox theologianswho uphold suchan ecclesiologyis JohnZiz\oulas.2r It is the ethosof his conceptthat also pervadesthe ecclesiologicalthought of many Old Catholicauthors over the last decades.This kind of ecclesiologynot only stemsfrom a combinationof trinitariandoctrine and ecclesiologicalthought, but in- cludesan approachto anthropologyand sociologythat is consistentwith the generalltrinkingin termsof communion.Therefore, trinitarian eccle- just siológyis an ethos,or evena world view, ratherthan ideasabout the Churóh.What is involved is, for example,a conceptof personhoodas determinedby being-in-communionwith others,a conceptof Christian - salvationas restorationof communion,and a conceptof ChurchaS so 'proof ' to speak- the of the reality of this restoredcommunion between God and humankind,and betweenpeople amongst each other' Trinitar- ian ecclesiologyis one of thoseapproaches to the Church which refuse to think about the Church as a sacralisedor clericalisedentity separate - from othercompartments of life and world. Trinitarianecclesiology as a fundamentalsoteriology, ecclesiology, sociology, and anthropologyof communion- presentsitself as a world view, as an overallinterpretation of God andhumanitY.
Practical consequencesof a trinitarictnecclesiology practical consequencesof Old Catholic trinitarian ecclesiologyinclude 'opens thefollowing. In the first place,this trinitarianapproach up' eccle- siology in the direction of anthropologyand sociology'If women and men are createdin the image of God, they are createdin the imageof the trinitarian God,'andtherefore they are createdon the basisof, and with a view to, being-in-communion,In such an ecclesiologythe Church is - - not seenas a sacralisedcompartment of reality,but Soto speak aSa modelfor communionin its widestsense. Stalder, for example,has called 'paradigm the Churcha for humanityand life'.28The samemeaning has 'first the biblical statementthat the Church is the fruits' of salvation.2e
27John D. Zizioulas,B e in g as Communi on ; Studies in Per s onhood and the Church, Press, contemporaryGreek Theologians 4 (CrestwoodNY: St. Vladimir's Seminary 1985). 2sStalder, Die WirklichkeitChristi erfahren,p. 280 (Paradigmafiir Menschheit und Leben). 2sCf .zThess. 2:13;James 1:18;Rev' 14:4'
18 Catholicity,Apostolicity, the Trinity andthe Eucharistin Old CfltholicEcclesiologY
Salvation- understoodas the restorationof communiqn- will only be fulfilled whenthe whole creationhas been taken up iqto this trinitarian communion.This eschatologicalfulfillment of salvationcan be described in two ways:the Churchwill haveceased to be, or tke wholecreation will be 'Church'.The latterformulation, more thanthe former,testifies to an understandingof theChurch that transcends the qbvious,reduced, sacralised,and marginalised understanding of theChurqh in thedirection of anunderstanding of theChurch as the divine-humaq coÍrmunion that still hasto growuntil it embracesall creation.30 A secondconsequence of a trinitarianecclesiology is the interpre- tation,for examplegiven by the Dutch theologiantran Visser (born 1931),that the Church shouldhave the samechar4cteristics as the Trinity. The Trinity is markedby unity-in-plurality,held togetherby a bond of love. According to this trinitarianpattern, Íhe Church should alsobe a communionin which varietyis heldtogether in unity by the bondof love.3r Athird consequencehas been worked out by thetheologian Herwig Aldenhoven(1933-2002), who was born in Austria but studiedand workedin Switzerland.He translatesthe theologyof the inner-trini- 'love' tarianlove betweenthe divine personsinto an ecclesiologyof betweenthe local Churches.He understandsthe lOcalChurch as a 'corporatepersonality'that has to listento, talk to, andhelp the other 'corporatepersonalities'. From a trinitarianconcept of the Churchhe derivesan interpretationof the Churchin termsof openness,reciproc- ity, andequality.32
Conclusion ContemporaryOld Catholictheology has been largely influencedby a trinitarianapproach to the Church.More fundamentafily,this resultsin an understandingof Christiansalvation as the restoÍationof commu- nion.The Old Catholictheological view of humanity,society, and the 'being Churchreflects what Zizioulashas called as communion'.More
'Das 30Cf. Aldenhoven, ekklesiologischeSelbstverstándnis', pp. 407-408. 3r Jan Visser, 'Christ sein heute im Namen des Vatersund des Sohnesund des HeiligenGeistes', IKZ 68 (1978),pp. 131-147. 'Trinitarische 3zHerwig Aldenhoven, Analogienund Orlskirchenekklesiologie', IKZ92 (2002),pp. 65-75.
19 Mattiis Ploeser practically,Old Catholicecclesiology has used this trinitarianapproach to emphasisevariety within unity.As thedivine persons are different, but united in love, the membersof the Church whq sharethis trinitarian life are also different, yet united.Moreover, each local Church has its own characteristics,while it is still united to all other local Churchesin the one bond of love.
5. A Eucharistic Concept of the Church EucharisticChurch and ecclesialEucharist When we finally turn to a eucharisticconcept of the Church,it is important to definewhat this doesand doesnot imply. S/hat a eucharisticconcept 'liturgical' of the Church doesnot meanis a reductionof the Church to its aspect.The Eucharistis not interpretedas just one of the sevensacra- 'liturgical' ments,or as a eventapart from the other aspectsof the life of the Church. What we are talking about is an interpretationof the Church that 'eucharistic' 'ecclesial' is , andan interpretation of theEucharist that is . The Eucharistis regardedas the main gatheringof the whole peopleof God, beingbrought together and thereby constituted aS a community,and, more- over,constituted as the body of Christby partaki4rgin thebody of Christ.In a eucharisticecclesiology, the eucharistic and tho ecclesial meanings of the 'body biblical image of Christ' areinseparable. Celebrating the Eucharist is alwayscelebrating our beingChurch, the Chutch- hencethe primacyof the local Churchin most eucharisticecclesiologies. In suchan ecclesiol- ogy,koinonia(co.mmunion)with thebody and blood of Christis notjust an individual 'meansof grace',but the communalkoinonia with Christand, inseparably,with eachother. Thus, to understarlda eucharisticconcept of theChurch, we havefirst to understandthe ecclesialconcept of theEucha- rist. Onecould evensay that the awarenessof a pucharisticecclesiology is presentas soon as one has caught the ecclesial r4reaning of theEucharist. In suchan understanding,the Eucharistpervades all aspectsof the life of the Church.The Euchartst(leitourgia) is both the sourceand the highest manifestationof the Church as a community (koinonia), of its trinitarian faíth (kerugma),and of its call to sharethe good gifts of God (diakonia). At the Eucharisteverything originates that is characteristicof the Church. For example,in a eucharisticecclesiology, the rninistryis understoodto be primarilythe serviceof presidingover the gatheÍingof the wholepeople of
20 Catholicity,Apostolicity, the Trinity andthe Eucharistin Old patholic Ecclesiology
Godin sucha waythat all (layand clerical) charisms are enabled to contrib- utetheir part to thewhole. The way eucharistic ecclesiplogy works is that theliturgical functton of (in this case)the ministrybeqomes paradigmatic for theunderstanding of theministry in all itsother spheyes of work.That is, 'presiding' ministry- in pastoralcare, in ecclesialadministration - i$ seenas and 'enabling'rather than as exercisingrights and corprpetences. In other words,a eucharisticecclesiology uses the ecclesial, cornmunal understand- ing of theEucharist as the paradigm for everythingthe Church is anddoes. Incompatiblewith a eucharisticecclesiology is, tltrerefore,an under- standingof Eucharistand liturgy asan isolatedcompaftment of thelife of theChurch. Opposing such a 'sacralised'andhence often clericalised and individualisedunderstanding of the liturgy, eucharistic ecclesiology offers an'unliturgical'concept of liturgy - liturgynot as an isolated act of worship, butas the inclusive event of beingChurch together. Theconsequences which thisecclesialunderstandingof liturgy has forthe actual sfrape andstyleofthe liturgyis, althoughrelated, nevertheless a different atrea of thoughtand discussion.
Rediscoveryof theeucharistic -ecclesiolo gical paradigm The twentieth-centuryrediscovery of such an undErstandingof both Churchand Eucharist has to do with the rediscovery0f the patristicpat- ternsof theologicalthought. In orderto appreciatea etlcharistic ecclesiol- 'medieval'- ogyit is necessaryto overcomethe - commonlycalled pat- ternsof clericalismand sacramentalism,as well êS-+ colilmonly called 'modern'- individualism.In patristicthought and praQtice, the Church as thewhole people of God,the ministry, and the sacraments still formedone coherentconcept of ecclesiality,imbedded in a coherentconcept of salva- tion.It is therediscovery of thisconcept - for examplB,by theLiturgical Movementand the nouvellethéologie - which haspaved the way for a eucharisticecclesiology in WesternChristianity. Not surprisingly,Eastern Christianity, with its probablycloser re- lationshipto patristicways of thought,has taken the lead in creatinga eucharistic-ecclesiologicaltheory. The namesof NikplajAfanasiev and JohnZizioulas are the mostfamous in this respect.33[n RomanCatholi-
33Cf. Nicolas Afanassíeff,L'Eglise du Saint-Esprit(Paris: Cert,I975; originally in Russian:Paris 1971); Zizioulas, Beins as Communion.
21 Mattiis Ploeger cism, authors such as Henri de Lubac and JoEephRatzinger have thor- oughly committed themselvesto this way of tfrinking about Church and Eucharist.3aThe sameis true of Anglicans suchas Gregory Dix in the past andRowan Williams in thepresent,3s and of PrQtestantssuch as the Swiss Reformed Jean-Jacquesvon Allmen and the ApnericanLutheran Gordon Lathrop.3oAfter this list of ecumenicalnames it will come as no surprise that the eucharisticapproach to the Church an{ the ecclesialapproach to the Eucharisthave also proved to be valuablein ecumenicaldialogue.3T
Theplace of eucharisticecclesíology within Old Catholicecclesiology TheOld Catholicecclesiology of thefirst half of tfe twentiethcentury cannot beregarded as an explicitly eucharistic ecclesiofiogy. There was an empha- sison the Churchas the wholepeople of God,qn the local Churchas hav- ing priority over the universalChurch, and lively interestin the Eucharist, but it hadnot yet cometo a formulationin term$of a eucharisticecclesiol- ogy. In recentdecades, this haschanged considprably. An importantdocu- ment asthe 2001 rewriting of the Statuteof the InternationalOld Catholic Bishops'Conferencedescribes in its preamblethe Churchas a fellowship and communionof people,which by the reconqiliationin JesusChrist and by the outpouringand the continuous work of the Holy Spirit is constituted asa unity in a given placearound a bishopwith the eucharistas its center.38
3aCf. Henride Lubac,Corpus Mysticum. L'Euchayistie et l'Egliseau MoyenAge (Paris:Aubier, 1944); Joseph Ratzinger, Das neue Volk Gottes. Entwilrfe zur Ekklesio- /ogie(Diisseldorf: Patmos, 1969) and later works sucfl as Zur Gemeinschafigerufen. Kircheheute verstehen (Freiburg: Herder, 1991). 35Gregory Dix,The Shnpe of theLiturgy (London: plack, 19a5);Rowan Williams, On ChristianTheology,Challenges in ContemporaryTheology 7 (Oxford:Blackwell, 2000). 36Jean-Jacques von Allmen, Essai sur le repasdu Spigneur(Neuchàtel: Delachaux etNiestlé,1966);Gordon W. Lathrop, Holy People: ALilturgical Ecclesiology (Minnea- polisMN: Fortress,1999). 3uFor examplern Baptism,Eucharist and Ministl"y('Lima' 1982)and in many bilateraldialogues. 3sUrs von Arx, Maja Weyermann(eds.), Statut der InternationalenAltkatho- lischenBischofskonferenz (IBK). OffizielleAusgabe in fiinf Sprachen,Beiheft zu IKZ 9l (200I ), pp.28-29.
22 Catholicity,Aposrolicity, the Trinity andthe Eucharist in Old CFtholicEcclesiology
Sucha phrase can be regarded as a eucharisticecclesiologY in a nutshell. It is bothchristological and pneumatological, it affirms the local Church, andit hasan episcopal and eucharistic focus. This phrase in theInternation- al Bishops'Conference'sStatute is theoutcome of seveÍaldecades during whichthe local, episcopal, and eucharistic understanding of theChurch has 'school' becomedominant in at leastone of OldCatholiO ecclesiology.
Characteristícsof a eucharisticecclesiolo gy Whatis theshape of thisOtd Catholic eucharistic ecclesiology? This can besketched briefly by refeningto theview of theGermAn theologian Wer- nerKtippers (1905-1980), who wasthe first Old Catholictheologian to offer a consistenteucharistic ecclesiology. According t0 Ki'ippers,Iiturgy is thecorporate celebration in whichthe Church as thebody of Christ,and theHead of thisbody, Christ, act together. Particularly tfre Eucharist is the eventin whichChristians are united with Christand wi[h eachother. The factthat the Eucharist is thecentral manifestation of theChurch does not mean,Ktippers says, that the Church is nothingbut the eucharistic celebra- tion.Rather. frorn the Eucharist the Church lives its life of communityand self-givingfor others.3e Withinthis 'celebrating'Church,the bishopis the primaryliturgical 'celebrant'.He presidesover the liturgy of theChurch - andtherefore over the Church- understoodas the local,episcopal, celebfating Church (the diocese).Priests and deacons are the representatives of nhebishops. In the 'sacqrdotal'priest centreof sucha eucharisticecclesiology is notthe with his 'power' to consecrateand to absolve- togetherwlth an understand- ing of episcopacyreduced to the 'power' to confirmand ordain - but the bishopas the communal and collegial presider of his laitryand clergy. Such an ecclesiology,Kiippers says, is exciting,because it re-livesand makes visiblethe ecclesial reality of theEarly Church - thelocal Church of the wholepeople of God,with its deacons,presbyterium, and bishop united in thecommon eucharistic celebration.4
3eWerner Ki.ippers, 'Symbolik der Alt-KatholischenKirche', in: WernerKiippers, PeterHauptmann, Friedrich Baser,Symbolik der kleinerenKirohen, Freikirchen und Sektendes Westens,Symbolik der Religionen 11(Stuttgart: Antotrl Hiersemann, 1964), 'Leben pp.I-27;Werner Ktippers, in Gemeinschaft',IKZ65 (1975)'pp. 50-59. 'symbolik' o Kiippers, , p.Z3;Werner Ktippers,"'Das Amt der Einheit". Theolo- gischeErwágungen zum Bischofsamt',lKZ61 (1971),pp.243-256.
23 MattiisPloeser
Otheraspects of a eucharisticecclesiology c4n be foundin theworks of more recentOld Catholic theologians.Kurt Stalder,Herwig Aldenhoven, and Urs von Arx are among those who have qffered an ecclesiologyin which the Trinity, salvation,communion, the Church, ministry, and the Eucharistare interdependentand mutually explain each other.They also havedeveloped an understandingof the supralpcalChurch that is in tune with the local emphasisof most eucharisticecplesiologies. The relation- ship betweenthe local and the wider Churchig expressedby the contact betweenthe bishops,amongst whom metropolifans,patriarchs, and in the end the Bishop of Rome have a primacy on diifferentlevels. Such a pri- macydoes not rule out thelocal, diocesan Churph as the basic entity of the Church,but enablesthe local Churches to expresstheir communionand to continuallyfind the truth in a processof conciliarity.+t The brokennessof Christianityinto denomi4ationsis probablythe big- gest challengeto the consistencyof a eucharisticecclesiology. The ideal situationof a 'local Church' celebratingthe El.rcharistaround its bishop doesnot actuallyexist. Within the areaof the loOalChurch, there are many denominationalChurches. Firstly, Old Cathollc eucharisticecclesiology regardsthis as an inconsistencyand anomaly.Secondly, this situation strengthensthe convictionthat ecumenismshQuld in the flrst placebe a processtowards full communionon the local level.Ecumenism should be the processleading towards one Church in oneplace. The next stepis that the local Churchesin the variousplaces recognise each other as funda- mentally'the sameChurch'. This recognitionqstablishes the communion betweenthe local Churches.a2
Finally, if the Church is understoodeucharistilcally and the Eucharistis understoodecclesially, ecclesial communion and eucharisticcommunion areessentially the same.This meansthat in the Old Catholiceucharistic- ecclesiologicalschool there is no room for official termsof intercommu- nion otherthan full communion.This is not to say that thesetheologians do not allow Christiansfrom otherChurches to receivecommunion in the Old CatholicChurch. As Aldenhovenhas written, the ecumenical situation of separateddenominational Churches being in a processof rapproche-
'Ein 'Petrusamt' al Cf. Urs von Arx, in der Communioder Kirchen.Erwágungen ausaltkatholischer Perspektive',lKZ 93 (2003),pp. 142. 'Der a2Cf. vonArx, ekklesiologischeCharakter', p.34.
24 Catholicity,Apostolicity, the Trinity andthe Eucharistin Old CatholicEcclesiology ment leadsto the acceptanceof an inconsistencybetween not refusing eucharisticcommunion to anybody,from whatever ecclesial communion he or shemay come, and at the sametime maintaininrg the theological convictionthat eucharistic and ecclesial communion are identical.a3
Conclusion We canconclude that at the momenteucharistic ecclesiology is the lead- ing 'school'within Old Catholicecclesiology.a It seesitself as a con- tinuationand systematisationof the Old Catholictheological history. It is closeto Orthodoxand Anglican eucharistic-ecclesiologicalthought, and bearssimilarity to non-centralistinteqpretations of RomanCatholic com- munio-ecclesiology.It combinesfundamental theological thought about the Church with the empirical reality of the celebratingChurch, and may be seenas an Old Catholiccontribution to rethinkingChurch, sacraments, andministry in the ecumenicalcontext.
6. Early Church, Local Church, Whole Church The Old Catholicapproach to the themestreated in this paperis marked by thefollowing characteristics.In the first place,the Early Churchplays a major role in all concepts.Catholicity is understoodas qualitativecon- tinuity with the faith of patristictimes, apostolicity as essentialidentity with the traditionof the Early Church,while the trinitarianand eucharis- tic conceptsof the Church try to live patristicconcepts of salvationand Church. Secondly,the local Church,understood as the diocese,is seenas the basicecclesiological entity. Catholicity is understoodas a qualification of the local Church,which canrecognise the samecatholicity in all other IocalChurches. Apostolic successionbelongs to the local Churchand its bishop- thereis no apostolicministry which is not in somesense rooted in a local Church.Trinitarian ecclesiology leads to an understandingof the local Churchesas corporatepersonalities in comrnunionwith each
'Einladung +: Herwig Aldenhoven, zur Eucharistie- Eucharistiegemeinschaft - Kirchengemeinschaft', IKZ77 (1987),pp.257-265. ' 'Strukturreform 4 For a phenomenologyof someother schools', seevon Arx, der Utrechtertlnion', pp. 114-115.
25 Mattijs Ploeger otherthrough the bond of love. Eucharisticecplesiology regards the local, episcopal,eucharistic community as the Churph. A third commoncharacteristic is the insistencethat 'Church'is not the leadershipof the Church,or the organisationalframework of the Church, but the whole Church,the whole peopleof God. Catholicityand aposto- licity are marks of the Church as a living cornmunity.Only secondarily are they marks of a part of the Church, suQhas its ordained ministry. Trinitarianecclesiology, starting from God's qwn 'being ascommunion', emphasisesthe fundamentallycommunal chalracter of the Christianfaith and Church. Finally, in a eucharisticecclesiology the communalcelebra- 'Church'. tion is regardedas identicalwith This is the contributionof Old Catholicecglesiology to the ecumenical understandingof the Church. Its vision, rooted in the ecclesialityof the Early Church,is a unitedChurch, understood As a worldwidecommunion of local catholicand apostolicChurches, expgriencing unity-in-diversity as the whole people of God, by participation in the eucharisticfeast of divine-humanlove.as
D eut s c he Zusamme nfas s un g
Aufgrundder unterschiedlichenHerkunftsbedingungen der in der UtrechterUnion vereinigtenKirchen hat sicherst mit derZnit eineal[katholische mainstream-Ekkle- siologieentwickelt. Sie ist durcheinen ortskirchlichqn Ansatz geprágt, der in derRe- flexiontiber die BegriffeKatholizitàt und Apostoliziqàt durchgehalten worden ist: Im Raumder Ortskirche, d.h. des Bistums, sind die primËlren Manifestationen dessen, was die Kirche(
asThe author wishes to thankthe Revd Professor IDr Urs von Arx (Bern),Professor Dr JanHallebeek (Amsterdam/Utrecht), and Professpr Dr AntonHoutepen (Utrecht) for theircomments on anearlier draft of thispaper as well asMs InekeSmit (Leiden) for herassistance in preparingthe English text.
26 Catholicity,Apostolicity, the Trinity and the Eucharist in Old CatholicEcclesiology einem
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