Logos: a Bridge-Builder for Interreligious Dialogue?

VIMAL TIRIMANNA, CSSR

LOGOS: A BRIDGE-BUILDER FOR INTERRELIGIOUS DIALOGUE?

Introduction As to be rightly expected, the recent Roman Catholic Synod of Bishops1 on the Word of God in Rome in October 2008 devoted the bulk of its time to discussing the unique place that the revealed Word of God, especially, the written Word of God, has in the life of the Church, and also to see how this same written Word could be proclaimed more effectively in a quickly changing contemporary world. At the same time, there were also a few bishops from various parts of the world who drew the attention of the Synod to the importance of also taking serious note of the presence of the “seeds of the Word” (semina Verbi) in peoples who are not Christians or in cultures and religions that are not Christian. They were trying to show the activity of the Holy Spirit in revealing the divine Word even/also outside the Bible. Their main reasoning was based on the fact that the Holy Spirit who inspired the written Word of God in the Bible also blows where he wills (John 3:8), and so diffuses “the seeds of the Word” among the multitudes, in his own mysterious way. To do this, they invoked the traditional Christian understanding of the concept of logos.

In this essay I intend to examine the concept of logos in the Catholic tradition by discussing its activity (i.e. that of the logos) of sowing “the seeds of the Word,” as it were, where the logos wills. I will do so by first looking at the origins of the concept of logos among the Greek philosophers and then by discussing briefly how it influenced some of the biblical writers in communicating their own message. Then I will discuss somewhat in detail how this concept was used by Justin Martyr in his Apologies to defend Christianity. Next, the use of the concept logos by the recent magisterium will be discussed, and finally, how it surfaced in—and

1 In the contemporary Roman Catholic Church the term “Synod of Bishops” refers to the institution of periodic meetings of bishops established in 1965 by Pope Paul VI. According to the “Decree on the Bishops’ Pastoral Office in the Church” issued by the Second Vatican Council, such a synod is convened by the Pope with the intention of as- sisting him in church government and of demonstrating the responsibility of bishops as a body for the universal church in addition to their individual responsibility in their respective dioceses. Such periodic synods are assigned particular topics for deliberation, and the Synod to which this essay refers had the topic “The Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church.”

195 STUDIES IN INTERRELIGIOUS DIALOGUE 19 (2009) 2 then unceremoniously disappeared from—the recent Synod floor will be noted. I will conclude by saying that, although the Synod apparently did not completely catch the vital importance of the efforts of those few Synod Fathers to reinject this concept back into the tradition (and thus, reinvigorate the Church’s mission in the contemporary multi-religious and multicultural societies), those interested in promoting interreligious dialogue need to pay serious attention to it because it can serve as an important theological bridge-builder between Christianity and other religions in our contemporary world.

The Origins of the Concept of Logos The ancient Greek word logos, which is usually translated as “word,” has a wide variety of meanings and is common to all periods of Greek literature, both prose and verse, with the exception of Epic literature where it is rarely used. It is a verbal noun from the Greek verb lego which can be rendered as “to count” or “to recount,” as well as “to say” or “to speak.” The various senses of logos cluster around the two meanings of that verb. Connected with both the meanings of the verb, logos can mean the process by which both computations and explanations are produced. In this context, logos refers to the process of human reasoning, human rationality and, more broadly, the rationality or rational principle of the universe. These latter meanings are especially important in Greek philosophical literature (Tobin 1992: 348).

The “long, distinguished, and very complex career” of logos in Greek philosophy began with the pre-Socratic philosopher Heraclitus (ca. 500 BC). Most of the time, Heraclitus employed the term logos in its more common meanings (proportion, account, explanation), but he may also have used it in the sense of an underlying cosmic principle of order, a principle that escaped the view of most people but was grasped by the few who were wise (Tobin 1992: 348).

The concept of logos was central to Stoicism where it again played a cosmological role. In this sense, Stoicism drew on Heraclitus in a way that neither Plato nor Aristotle had. For the Stoics, logos, God, and nature were in reality one. Logos was the rational element that pervaded and controlled the whole universe. The logos that permeated the universe was present in nature through seminal reasons (logoi spermatikoi) which served as the powers of order and growth in individual entities. While logos permeated and ordered all of nature, it was present in different parts of nature in different ways. Only in human beings was logos present as part of their very nature. In other words, only human beings were rational. For the Stoics, human rationality (logos) was intimately connected with and reflected the rationality of the universe as a whole (Tobin 1992: 348-49).

196 LOGOS: A BRIDGE-BUILDER FOR INTERRELIGIOUS DIALOGUE

Logos in the Bible Logos was used frequently in the Septuagint to translate a number of Hebrew words. However, over 90% of the time, logos translated the Hebrew word dabar (word). Logos in the Septuagint, like the Hebrew dabar, had a wide range of meanings. It meant narrative, speck, dialogue, oracle, or proverb. But because the Hebrew dabar and the Greek logos did not have the identical range of meanings, the use of logos as a translation of the Hebrew dabar inevitably influenced the way in which logos was understood. In the Septuagint, logos often took on a more dynamic meaning than it originally had in Greek (Isaiah 2:3: “And the word [logos] of the Lord [will go forth] from Jerusalem”; Isaiah 45:23: “My words [logoi] will not be frustrated; Psalm119:74: “For I have hoped in your words [logous]; Psalm147:15: “His word [logos] will run swiftly”). There is a sense of power and dynamism in this use of logos that was not part of its semantic secular Greek. In addition, logos and particularly the plural logoi were used to refer to the Mosaic Law (Exodus19:1; Deuteronomy 1:1). In several psalms (33:6) and in the Sirach (39:17, 31; 43:10,26), logos was associated with God’s act of creation and his maintenance of the cosmic order (Tobin 1992:349-50).

The theme of the divine Wisdom that appears in wisdom literature such as Pro- verbs, Sirach and the Wisdom of Solomon is related to the logos theme. In these writings, the stress is on God’s wisdom in creation, just as the Genesis account stressed God’s creative Word. The two are obviously analogous and eventually come to be united as one concept (Myers 1987: 1064). Also, in the same wisdom literature, wisdom is often personified as a woman, with the use of the pronouns “she” and “her” as its pronouns. In Proverbs 8:22 wisdom is the first creation of God and is, in turn, either the agent of the rest of the creation (v. 30) or at least the attendant at creation (v. 27). In Wisdom 9:4, wisdom sits beside the throne of God. “A pure emanation of the glory of the Almighty … and an image of his goodness” (Wisdom 7:25-26). She assisted in creation (Wisdom 8:6; 9:2,9).

Logos became a much more important concept in Hellenistic Judaism and reached its apex in the writings of the Hellenistic Jewish exegete Philo of Alexandria (ca.20 BC-50 AD). In his writings, which are primarily interpretations of the Sep- tuagint, he sought to interpret the Mosaic Law in the light of Greek, primarily Middle Platonic, philosophy. The concept of logos played a central role in these interpretations. Philo’s use of logos must be seen within the tradition of Hellen- istic Jewish wisdom speculation since Philo, in continuity with his predecessors, identified wisdom (sophia) with logos and gave both some of the same attributes. For example, logos was the image of God, the power through which the universe was originally ordered and the power by which the universe continued to be ordered, etc. (Tobin 1992: 350; Myers 1987: 1064). In fact, so close were the Jewish and Stoic concepts that Philo regarded the Stoic logos as being derived from the biblical sophia (Myers 1987: 1064).

197 STUDIES IN INTERRELIGIOUS DIALOGUE 19 (2009) 2

A similar close conceptual parallel is evident in the gospel of John (especially in his prologue) according to which nothing was made without the divine Word (logos) (John 1:3; Proverbs 8). The various attributes and activities ascribed to wisdom in Jewish wisdom literature are here ascribed to the logos (Tobin 1992: 353). Both the logos of the hymn in John’s prologue and wisdom in Jewish wisdom literature are with God in the beginning, both are involved in the creation of the world, both seek to find a place among humankind, and both are within the Jewish tradition of speculation about the deeper meanings of the early chapters of Genesis (Tobin 1992: 354). Moreover, the rejection of logos/light upon its arrival at its own place and its own people recalls the rejection of wisdom in 1 Enoch 42:2 (Perkins 1987: 951). John goes on to say that the Word (logos) became flesh in the person of Jesus of Nazareth (John 1:14).

Of course, a few other New Testament writers also consider the Word (logos)/ Wisdom (sophia) of God as fully expressed in Jesus Christ. Thus, Paul could say that the wisdom of God appeared on the earth in the form of Jesus (1 Corinthians 1:24; Colossians 1:15; cf. Wisdom 7:26). The author of Hebrews could directly apply wisdom terminology drawn from Wisdom 7:24-26 to Jesus Christ (He- brews1:2-3). But the most striking use of the term logos in the New Testament is found in Johannine literature, in John 1:1-18 and in 1 John 1:1-4. Of course, in the Christological hymn in Colossans 1, Jesus is referred to as existing before all creation, and as the one through whom all creation was made, but there is no direct identification of logos and Jesus here as in John. While the original structure of the Prologue in John is a matter of debate, scholars point out that it fell into three strophes. In the first strophe (1:1-5), the logos was with God at the beginning and was God and was the means through which the universe and life came to be. In the second strophe (1:10-12b) the logos came to its own, was not received by its own, but to those who received the logos gave the power of becom- ing children of God. In the third and final strophe (1:14,16), the logos became flesh in Jesus of Nazareth and the glory of the logos was experienced by those who believed. John 1:10-12b originally referred to the presence of the logos prior to the incarnation, and only in John 1:14,16 was the incarnate logos referred to (Tobin 1992: 352).

It is important to note that the use of logos in the hymn in John’s prologue moves beyond Hellenistic Jewish speculations about logos/wisdom in that it identifies this logos with Jesus of Nazareth. Neither Jewish wisdom literature nor the kind of Hellenistic Jewish speculation represented by Philo ever sought to identify either wisdom or logos with a specific human being. The hymn in the prologue is the clearest example in first-century Christian literature of both an incarnational and a pre-existent Christology. It affirms both that the logos has become flesh in the person of Jesus of Nazareth and that Jesus of Nazareth existed before the incarnation, indeed before the creation of the world, as God’s divine logos. The de-

198 LOGOS: A BRIDGE-BUILDER FOR INTERRELIGIOUS DIALOGUE velopment of this belief as it appears in the John’s prologue and gospel as a whole is the most characteristic development of the Johannine tradition (Tobin 1992: 355). The purpose of the “enfleshment” of the logos in Jesus is to tell the story of God, and the gospel’s account of that story will reflect the Johannine understanding of God and his relationship to Jesus, to the world, and to those in the world (Moloney 1989: 1420). The prologue celebrates the pre-existent Word and its activity in creation (vv.1 -5), the activity of the Word in guiding and illuminating human beings, who often reject divine wisdom (vv. 9ab-12) and the incarnation of the Word that has enabled human beings to participate now in the divine fullness (vv. 14,16) (Perkins 1989: 951).

It is from all this that the traditional Christian understanding follows that in the mystery of incarnation, in and through the person of Jesus of Nazareth who is the logos, God had revealed Himself fully. In fact, McKenzie expresses this point well when he says: The prologue of [John] (1:1-14) synthesizes in the identification of Jesus the word all the leading themes of the 4th Gospel: the identity of Jesus with the Father (1:1) and the personal distinction of Jesus and the Father, Jesus as the life of mankind (1:4, 13) and as the light which brings life (1:4f, 9). Here also appears the word as the creative agent, a motif not common elsewhere in the [New Testament] (1:3, 10)…. This word is the summit and the fullness of the self-revelation of God through His word (1:18), and the agent through which God accomplishes the salvation which this word signifies. (McKenzie 1965: 941) Thus, what characterizes the use of logos in the New Testament is not some new meaning for the word beyond what is found in the Septuagint but its reference to the divine revelation of God, specifically the divine revelation of God through Jesus Christ (Tobin 1992: 351).

Logos in the Early Fathers Continuing the biblical relationship with the concept logos, quite a few prominent Church Fathers such as Clement of Alexandria, Justin Martyr, Theophilus of Antioch, and Iraneus of Lyons also used it in their writings to amplify or deepen their own Christian message. Of them, we will look only at Justin Martyr’s views in this essay, mainly because it is he who dealt with the topic extensively as far as our interests in this paper are concerned. Besides, he was the first Christian writer to make a synthesis between Christianity and other religions. On the one hand, he developed a true appreciation of Platonic and Stoic philosophies, while he insisted on the presence of God in the pagan world, on the other, due mainly to logos spermatikos (Ries 1992: 48). Moreover, Justin Martyr, the outstanding apologist of the second century, is considered to be the first prominent defender of the Christian faith against non-Christians and those hostile to the early church. It was the contemporary philosophical challenges to his own faith that made Justin

199 STUDIES IN INTERRELIGIOUS DIALOGUE 19 (2009) 2 undertake the task of formulating his response and, in the process, organized “what may well be called the first Christian synthesis of the universe, in which he stresses the cosmological function of the Logos” (Dupuis 1997: 57). Although he was well-versed in Greek philosophy, his works, from a theological point of view, too, have exceptional value. He was also the first Christian writer to apply philosophical categories and terminology in Christian thought. In combining Plato’s world of ideas with the Word concept of the Holy Scriptures, Justin became “the originator of the philosophical exposition” of the concept of logos (Falls 1948: 17- 18). In Justin’s writings the logos designates the Son (the second person of the Trinity) precisely in his cosmological function, namely, in his relation to cosmos. On the one hand, he speaks of the divine Word existing with God and, on the other, all the cosmological functions, all God’s interventions in the world, are attributed precisely to the logos (Dupuis 1997: 57). As Dupuis points out: The cosmological function of the Logos is, in effect, the foundation for Justin’s theology of revelation. The Father acts through the Son; all divine manifestations in the world take place through him. This, which is true of the divine act of creation, remains true where God’s personal manifestation is concerned. Such manifestation of God through the Word is not limited to the Christian dispensation. It took place before the incarnation of the Word, among the Jews and the Greeks; everywhere there have been people who lived by the Word and deserve to be called Christian. (Dupuis 1997: 57) According to Justin, even such renowned Greek philosophers like Socrates had a vague knowledge of Jesus Christ, the logos, although he was not aware of it. Thus, in Chapter 10 of his Second Apology, contrasting Socrates and Jesus Christ, he could write: There was no one who believed so much in Socrates as to die for his teaching, but not only philosophers and scholars believed in Christ, of whom even Socrates had a vague knowledge (for He was and is Logos who is in every person, and who predicted things to come first through the prophets and then in person when He assumed our human nature and feelings, and taught us these doctrines), but also workmen and men wholly unedu- cated, who all scorned glory, and fear, and death. Indeed, this is brought about by the power of the ineffable Father, and not through the instrumentality of human reason. (Falls 1948: 130) In Chapter 5 of his First Apology Justin draws a parallel between the killing of Socrates and the persecutions of his contemporary Christians: And not only among the Greeks were these things through Socrates condemned by reason (logos), but also among the non-Hellenic peoples by the Logos Himself, who assumed a human form and became man, and was called Jesus Christ. ( Falls 1948: 38) In a footnote explaining the use of the term by Justin in the above passage, Falls says:

200 LOGOS: A BRIDGE-BUILDER FOR INTERRELIGIOUS DIALOGUE

Justin distinguishes between the seminal word (logos spermatikos) and the Perfect Word (ho pas logos) which is the Word of God. The seminal word (human reason) is implanted as a seed in every man and by a wise use of it a man, e.g., Socrates, could acquire a partial knowledge of the Perfect Logos. Only Christians, by Revelation, can attain a full knowledge of the Divine Logos. The greater one’s knowledge of the Logos, the more se- vere was the demon’s persecution. (Falls 1948: 38, n. 3) Justin firmly believed, apparently, that whoever had spoken truth did so because of the logos, and whoever spoke at least those things that are at least vaguely linked to that truth, did so because of the “seminal Word” that the logos had implanted in every human being. In Chapter 13 of the same Second Apology Justin writes: I am proud to say that I strove with all my might to be known as a Christian, not becasue the teachings of Plato are different from those of Christ, but because they are not in every way similar; neither are those of other writers, the Stoics, the poets, and the historians. For each one of them, seeing, through his participation of the seminal Divine Word, what was related to it, spoke very well. But, they who contradict themselves in important matters evidently did not acquire the unseen [that is heavenly] wisdom and the indispensabile knowledge. The truths which men in all lands have rightly spoken belong to us Christians…. Indeed, all writers, by means of the engrafted seed of the Word which was implanted in them, had a dim glimpse of the truth. For the seed of something and its imitation, given in proportion to one’s capacity, is one thing, but the thing itself, which is shared and imitated according to His grace, is quite another. (Falls 1948:133-34) Then, in Chapter 32 of the same First Apology, Justin says: “For, what the Divine Spirit called through the prophet ‘His robe’ are those believers in Christ, in whom dwells the seed of God, namely, the Word” (Falls 1948: 69). Falls explains: “Justin here speaks of the seminal word (which is in every man and is his reason), as distinct from the Perfect Word who is in the faithful only” (Falls 1948: 69, n. 3).

In Chapter 46 of the First Apology, Justin says (without distinguishing clearly when exactly he means the Word, and when he means reason when he uses the term logos): We have been taught that Christ was First-begotten of God [the Father] and we have indicated above that He is the Word in whom all mankind partakes. Those who live by reason are Christians, even though they have been considered atheists: such as, among the Greeks, Socrates, Heraclitus, and others like them; and among the foreigners, Abraham, Elias, Ananas, Azarias, Misael, and many others whose deeds or names we now forbear to enumerate, for we think it would be too long. So, also, they who lived before Christ and did not live by reason were useless men, enemies of Christ, and murderers of those who did live by reason. But those who had lived reasonably, and still do, are Christians, and are fearless and untroubled. (Falls 1948: 83-84)

201 STUDIES IN INTERRELIGIOUS DIALOGUE 19 (2009) 2

Having glanced through some of his writings, it should be more than obvious to the reader that, for Justin, only the believers in Christ (logos) could claim to partake fully in logos, while others could partake only partially in the logos thanks to “the seeds of the logos” or logos spermatikos implanted in all of mankind. In Chapter 8 of the Second Apology Justin refers to the “seeds of the logos” when he draws a contrast between those who have the benefit of the “whole Word” and those who have only the benefit of the “seeds of the Word.” Writing in the context of the persecutions of Christians in the early centuries, Justin is of the opinion that the “demons” who persecute anyone who lives a good moral life by the “seeds of the Word” are more intense in their persecution of those who live by the “fullness of the Word,” the logos, hence the persecutions of the believers: We know that the followers of the Stoic teaching, because they were praiseworthy at least in their ethics, as were also the poets in some respects, because of the seed of reason implanted in all mankind, were hated and killed …. For, as we pointed out, the demons always brought it about that everyone, who strives in any way to live according to right reason and to avoid evil, be an object of hatred. Nor is it surprising that the demons are proved to be the cause why they are much more hated who do not live according to only a part of the seimnal word, but by the knowledge and consideration of the whole Word, which is Christ. (Falls 1948:127-28) Merlo interprets the above passage by Justin in Falls to mean that the action of persecution by those whom Justin calls the “demons” of Christians is simply because the Christians relate fully to and participate fully in the logos who is Christ while the persecution of the Stoics by the same “demons” is due to the relationship of the Stoics with the “logos seminale” (the seeds of the Word), which enables them to have “a simple participation.” In other words, Justin holds that the knowledge of truth in Christians is “far more superior” to that of the non- Christians though the latter too has access to that very truth in a vague manner. Merlo holds that Justin did recognize that in their ethical reflections the Stoic philosophers presented a correct and orderly discourse on truth. Justin attributed a similar but a more limited form of knowledge of the truth to the classical poets, too. That which made it possible for the Stoics and the poets to reach such moral knowledge, according to Justin, is the “seeds of the Word” (Merlo 1995: 215). Relying on Holte, Merlo says that the expression the “seeds of the Word” here designates a certain fragmentary knowledge that comes from the logos itself (Merlo 1995: 215). Thanks to the “seeds of the Word,” the Stoics and the poets were able to elaborate such erudite ethical discourses. But it is to be safely presumed that such knowledge also includes a religious content, due to the fact that the connection between the religious milieu and the ethical milieu have often emerged together. Such a presumption is explicitly confirmed by Justin’s Second Apology 13,5 (Merlo 1995: 215-16). On the basis of this, one could conclude a direct dependence of theological speculation on the “seeds of the Word.” This is even more obvious when a little later Justin himself calls these “seeds” by the

202 LOGOS: A BRIDGE-BUILDER FOR INTERRELIGIOUS DIALOGUE

Greek term logos spermatikos (Merlo 1995: 216). Basing himself again on Holte, Merlo interprets this expression (which is of Stoic origin) as the transcendent logos. The epithet spermatikos refers to the special activity of the logos which consists in scattering (sowing) the “seeds” among humankind in the form of an illumination of the religious and moral type. In this sense, the “seeds of the logos” in human beings turns out to be the translation of the action of the illuminator of the “logos seminal” (Merlo 1995: 216). To elucidate his point, Merlo cites Holte: Logos Spermatikos is thus comprehended as transcendent, and the epithet spermatikos which in no circumstances can mean “disseminated”, refers to Logos in a special activity, i.e. sowing his sperma in an actual religious and moral illumination. (Merlo 1995: 216, n. 19) Thus, in Justin’s mind, thanks to this action of sowing its “seed”, the logos illumines all humankind through logos spermatikos, though in the person of Jesus the entire logos itself is incarnated. Thus, those followers of Jesus have more religious and moral illumination than those who follow merely the “seeds” of logos. In Chapter 10 of his Second Apology, this is precisely Justin’s point when he says: Beyond doubt, therefore, our teachings are more noble than all human teachings, because Christ, who appeared on earth for our sakes, became the whole Logos, namely, Logos and body and soul. Everything that the philosophers and legislators discovered and expressed well, they accomplished through their discovery and contemplation of some parts of the Logos. But, since they did not have a full knowledge of the Logos, which is Christ, they often contradicted themselves. (Falls 1948:129) We may conclude this fairly long treatment of Justin’s application of the Greek concept of logos to Jesus of Nazareth, by re-echoing Dupuis’ interpretation of Justin: The key to the whole system is in differentiated participation of the Logos: all people share in him, but while others have recieved from him partially (apo merous), we to whom the Logos revealed himself in his incarnation have been blessed with his complete manifestation. In all persons a seed of the Logos (sperma tou logou) may be found, for the Logos-sower (spermatikos logos) sows in all; yet to us only the entirety of the Logos has been made manifest. (Dupuis 1997: 59) It is important to note here that though Justin did not depend directly on the Prologue of John, both John and Justin seem to be expressing more or less the same views with regard to the Greek concept of logos and its full incarnation in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. What is useful for us in this paper is the fact that both (the Johanine Prologue and Justin) did enable the tradition to lay a firm Christian basis for the understanding of God’s unlimited action in His own creation, especially the Word’s unimpeded functioning (though in different degrees)

203 STUDIES IN INTERRELIGIOUS DIALOGUE 19 (2009) 2 in all of humanity which the same Word had called into being, through His Spirit who knows no bounds (John 3:8).

Logos in Recent Magisterial Teachings It was the Second Vatican Council that officially resurrected at least partially, so to say, the concepts of logos and the “seeds of the Word” (logos spermatikos) that were already ingrained into the tradition, especially in the early centuries of Chris- tianity, as we saw above. However, it should be noted that besides a nominal mention of “the seeds of the Word,” there is no explicit theological exposition or use of these traditional Christian concepts in the conciliar documents. They only seem to have influenced the drafters’ theology, and so, if at all, they seem to be only implicitly present in the conciliar documents. First , Nostra Aetate shows some implicit traces of these two concepts when it speaks of the presence in the non-Christian traditions of “a ray of that Truth which enlightens all” (No. 2). Interestingly and surprisingly, however, this key conciliar document on other religions does not use the concept of logos or logos spermatikos explicitly; instead, it uses the concept of “a ray of Truth” which is not as familiar as the concept of logos in the tradition. However, Ad Gentes 15 refers to “the Holy Spir- it, who calls all men to Christ by the seeds of the Word.” Moreover, No.11 of that same document also evinces the influences of these concepts on the drafters, recognizing the presence of the “seeds of the word” in those non-Christian traditions, and points to “the riches which a generous God has distributed among the nations.” Surprisingly, however, no theological exposition based on the tradition- ally understood functions of these two concepts of logos and of logos spermatikos is given (not even in the form of a footnote!) as clear evidence to support this important claim of Ad Gentes. Moreover, although both Lumen Gentium 17 and Ad Gentes 9 refer to “whatever good is found sown” not only “in the minds and hearts of men” but also “in the rites and customs of various peoples,” the indis- pensable function performed by logos in such a context (i.e., the scattering of logos spermatikos), is not mentioned explicitly in any of those passages either.

In his commentary on Nostra Aetate, Oesterreicher seems to express the traditional understanding of the concept of logos, although he does not use that word explicitly, when he writes: What has happened, and what is expressed in the Declaration, is the overwhelming realization that mankind bears the seal of Christ, even if it is far from being Christian. He came into the world, and this merciful event can never be undone. All men are images of the eternal Word made flesh, however blurred their contours. Whether they know it or not, all have been offered a share in the divine life, all are infinitely loved and have their being only in the love of God. The traces of God are everywhere, and we must open our eyes to them. (Oesterreicher 1969: 92-93) He continues:

204 LOGOS: A BRIDGE-BUILDER FOR INTERRELIGIOUS DIALOGUE

The Council has imparted new strength to these opinions which have often been forgotten. But we must not be satisfied with some general knowledge of them; the Declaration rather demands a deeper knowledge of the ways of God and men. The more we penetrate into the convictions and religious practices of non-biblical origin, the more we shall perceive God’s gentle, almost shy action everywhere, even in the jungle, in the mountains and temples that have not yet been marked with the Cross. It is the greatness of those sections of the Declaration dealing with the various non-Christian religions that they praise the omnipresence of grace. (Oesterreicher 1969: 93) Precisely because of this “ominpresence of grace,” Ad Gentes 7 could say that “God in ways known to Himself can lead those inculpably ignorant of the gospel to that faith” necessary for salvation. But here the Council again does not use the logos concept from the tradition or its close relative logos spermatikos to sub- stantiate this particular traditional Christian belief. Instead, the Council seems to be quite content in just stating the fact that God in His own mysterious ways could lead even those who have not heard of the gospel yet to their own salvation. Of course, Gaudium et Spes 22 also says the same but gives the close unity of every human being to the saving mystery of Jesus Christ as the reason for such salvation, thus, at least hinting at the concept of logos: For by His incarnation the Son of God has united Himself in some fashion with every man …. All this holds true not only for Christians, but for all men of good will in whose hearts grace works in an unseen way. For, since Christ died for all men, and since the ultimate vocation of man is in fact one, and divine, we ought to believe that the Holy Spirit in a manner known only to God offers to every man the possibility of being associated with this paschal mystery. Commenting on the above conciliar teaching, Joseph Ratzinger (who was an in- fluential peritus at the Council) explicitly uses the traditional understanding of the concept of logos to show how grace could work in all human beings “in an unseen way,” thanks to the logos taking the human nature: The human nature of all men is one; Christ’s taking to himself the one human nature of man is an event which affects every human being; consequently human nature in every human being is henceforward Christologically characterized. This idea is then extended to the real plane of actual concrete human existence. Human action, thought, willing and loving have become the instrument of Logos: what is first present on the plane of being also gives new significance to the plane of action, to the actual accomplishment of human personal life. (Ratzinger 1969:160) In his Evangeli Nuntiandi (1975), Pope Paul VI, following the directions indicated by the Council teachings, explicitly invokes the concept of the “seeds of the Word” in his description of other religions when he says:

205 STUDIES IN INTERRELIGIOUS DIALOGUE 19 (2009) 2

This first proclamation is also addressed to the immense sections of mankind who practice non-Christian religions. The Church respects and esteems these non-Christian religions because they are the living expression of the soul of vast groups of people. They carry within them the echo of thousands of years of searching for God, a quest which is incomplete but often made with great sincerity and righteousness of heart. They possess an impressive patrimony of deeply religious texts. They have taught generations of people how to pray. They are all impregnated with innumerable “seeds of the Word.” (No. 53) The unity of Christ (logos) with all humanity, in fact, with each and every human being, is expressed by Pope John Paul II when he says that the human being is the way for the Church because man—every man without exception whatever—has been redeemed by Christ, and because with man—with each man without exception whatever—Christ is in a way united, even when man is unaware of it: “Christ, who died and was raised up for all, provides man”—each man and every man—“with the light and the strength to measure up to his supreme calling.” (John Paul II 1979: No. 14) Here, although he does not invoke the concept of logos as such directly, the Pope seems to be just re-echoing the ideas of the tradition with regard to logos and its close unity with all humankind.

The Pope, when speaking about other religions and cultures, often referred , in fact, to “the mystery of unity” that exists among all human beings. What he meant by this term is explained later by the document Dialogue and Proclamation (which was jointly issued by the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue and the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples) in the following words: First comes the fact that the whole of humankind forms one family, due to the common origin of all men and women, created by God in his own image. Correspondingly, all are called to a common destiny, the fullness of life in God. Moreover, there is but one plan of salvation for humankind, with its centre in Jesus Christ, who in his incarnation “has united himself in a certain manner to every person” ([Redemptoris Hominis] 13; cf. [Gaudium et Spes] 22). Finally, there needs to be mentioned the active presence of the Holy Spirit in the religious life of the members of the other religious traditions. From all this the Pope concludes to a “mystery of unity” which was manifested clearly at Assisi, “in spite of the differences between religious professions.” (No. 28) In No. 29 the same document goes on to invoke ideas that are linked to the logos concept as understood in the tradition, especially in John and Justin: From this mystery of unity it follows that all men and women who are saved share, though differently, in the same mystery of salvation in Jesus Christ through his Spirit. Christians know this through their faith, while others remain unaware that Jesus Christ is the source of their salvation. The mystery of salvation reaches out to them, in a way known to God, through the invisible action of the Spirit of Christ. Concretely, it will be in the sincere

206 LOGOS: A BRIDGE-BUILDER FOR INTERRELIGIOUS DIALOGUE practice of what is good in their own religious traditions and by following the dictates of their conscience that the members of other religions respond positively to God's invitation and receive salvation in Jesus Christ, even while they do not recognize or acknowledge him as their saviour. (cf. Ad Gentes 3, 9, 11) Apparently, there is again an indirect influence by the concepts of logos and logos spermatikos on the ideas in the above quotation though the functions that the tradition had attributed to these two concepts are here attributed explicitly to what the document calls “the Spirit of Christ.” Could this be another term for logos, which had become fully incarnated in the person of Jesus of Nazareth? In general, most of the magisterial documents and their commentators do use two theological phrases, “the active presence of God through his Word” and “the universal action of the Spirit,” to refer to God’s activity outside the visible boundaries of the church. For example, commenting on the teachings of the Vatican II with regard to the church’s appreciation for other religious traditions, Machado could write: The Second Vatican Council reaffirms the traditional doctrine according to which salvation in Jesus Christ is, in a mysterious way, a reality open to all persons of good will. But the Council has also openly acknowledged the presence of positive values not only in the religious life of individual believers of other religious traditions, but also in the religious traditions to which they belong. It attributed these values to the active presence of God through his Word, pointing also to the universal action of the Spirit. (Machado 2008: 70) In fact, in many of his teachings, and especially in No. 28 of his encyclical, Re- demptoris Missio, Pope John Paul II acknowledges the universal action of the Holy Spirit officially when he writes: The Spirit manifests himself in a special way in the Church and her members. Nevertheless, his presence and activity are universal, limited neither by space or time…. The Spirit … is at the very source of the human person’s existential and religious questioning which is occasioned not only by contingent situations but by the very structure of its being. The Spirit’s presence and activity affect not only individuals but also society and history, peoples, cultures and religions. Thus, in the conciliar teachings and also in the later magisterial teachings, there is an overlapping of a couple of theological concepts to indicate the same function, i.e., the function of God’s activity even/also outside the church. That is to say, at times the magisterium attributes such divine activity to the Word (logos), and at other times, to the all-pervasive active presence of the Holy Spirit. Ad Gentes 4, for example, holds that “without doubt, the Holy Spirit was at work in the world before Christ was glorified.” In No. 53 of his celebrated encyclical, Dominum et Vivificantem, Pope John Paul II highlights the universal action of the Holy Spirit before the time of the Christian dispensation and today outside the church. But as the magisterium, especially that of John Paul II has taught categorically and consistently, there cannot be any separation between the Holy Spirit as the third person of the Trinity that existed from the beginning and the Spirit of

207 STUDIES IN INTERRELIGIOUS DIALOGUE 19 (2009) 2

Chirst (cf. Redemptoris Missio 29). Before the time of the Christian dispensation, the activity of the Holy Spirit, in virtue of the divine plan of salvation, was ordered to Christ. Outside the church today, it results from the saving event accomplished in him (Dupuis 1997: 176). The same magisterium has also consistently and categorically upheld that there is one indivisible unity between the Word (logos)-to-be-incarnated and the Word incarnate in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus Christ, the incarnate Word, remains at the centre of God’s plan of salvation and of its unfolding in history (Dupuis 1997: 196). In the last analysis then, the traditional understanding of the logos and its functioning in and through logos spermatikos in all humanity, is still upheld by the magisterium when it comes to the divine activity outside the church, though often this fact is not explicitly stated.

Last but not least, in Dialogue and Proclamation 24, reference is made to how “the writers of the second century and the first part of the third century such as Justin, Iranaeus and Clement of Alexandria” spoke “about the ‘seeds’ sown by the Word of God in the nations.” Thus, the document says that “prior to and outside the Christian dispensation, God has already, in an incomplete way, manifested himself. This manifestation of the Logos is an adumbration of the full revelation in Jesus Christ to which it points.” In other words, this magisterial document clearly and explicitly aligns itself with the traditional Christian understanding of the concepts of logos and logos spermatikos in explaining God’s activity “prior to and outside” the church, although it also later uses the other traditional concept “the action of the Spirit” to explain the same divine activity (cf. Dialogue and Proclamation 1991: No. 35). However, towards the end of the document we note how the concept of logos spermatikos is used in No. 82 where we read that all Christians “as they engage in interreligious dialogue” will “discover the ‘seeds of the Word’ sown in people’s hearts and in the religious traditions to which they belong.”

References to Logos in the Recent Synod In No. 30 of the Lineamenta (which is a customary preliminary Synodal document meant to initiate or inspire a process of reflections in preparation for the Synod), we read: Positively speaking, an effort should be made to know non-Christian religions and their respective cultures so as to discern the seeds of the Word present in them. It is important to remember that listening to God should lead to the elimination of all forms of violence, so that the Word might become active in the heart and work of promoting justice and peace. In the working document (Instrumentum Laboris) of the Synod which is customarily prepared after feedback on the Lineamenta from the various episcopal con- ferences all over the world, we read in No. 56:

208 LOGOS: A BRIDGE-BUILDER FOR INTERRELIGIOUS DIALOGUE

Making reference to what the Magisterium of the Church has expressed up until now (cf. [Ad Gentes] 11; [Nostra Aetate] 2-4), and the various responses which arrived, the following points call for reflection and evaluation. The Church, sent to bring the Gospel to all creation (cf. [Mark ] 16:15), encounters a great number of followers of traditional religions and those which possess sacred books with their own way of understanding them. Everywhere she encounters persons who are actively searching or simply awaiting the “Good News.” In every case, the Church feels herself duty-bound to the Word which saves (cf. [Romans] 1:14). Positively speaking, an effort should be made to discern the “seeds of the Word” (semina Verbi) among people, which can serve as a genuine preparation for the Gospel. Religions and spiritual traditions which especially merit attention because of their age and diffusion, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Taoism, ought to be objects of study by Catholics, in light of a faithful, respectful dialogue. Thus, we notice that the concept “seeds of the Word” is present in both the above- mentioned pre-Synodal documents (although in both documents it is the Latin semina Verbi that is used, instead of the traditional Greek rendering logos spermatikos), implying that these “seeds” represent other ways that God speaks to peoples or other ways that God reveals himself to the world. No wonder then that in the Synod hall proper, there were several bishops who highlighted the concept of the “seeds of the Word” and wished that the Church, while giving the written Word in the Bible its proper prominent place in the life of the Church, would not forget that God reveals himself also in and through other means. The Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, Cardinal Ivan Dias said: The Word of God is invaluable also with regards to interreligious dialogue. God, the Fa- ther of all humankind, wants all His children to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the Truth. His Holy Spirit works even outside the confines of the Church, and leaves “seeds of the Word”— “semina Verbi” as the Second Vatican Council put it—even in non- Christian religions, giving us the challenge to appreciate “whatever is pure, just, noble and honorable” ([Philippians] 4:8) in them, and to make those seeds to blossom in the sacred Person of Our Lord Jesus Christ. (Zenit [13 October 2008]) The bishop of Wurzburg (Germany), Friedhelm Hofmann, reminded the Synod that God’s revelation is not limited to the Word of God in the Bible. “It can also be found in nature and in culture. Of course, the highest and most intense revelation by God is the Incarnation of the Word of God in Jesus Christ. This is what needs to be explained” (Zenit [13 October 2008]). Bishop Ignatius Suharyo Hardjoatmodjo, the Archbishop of Semarang (Indonesia), said that the Linea- menta and the Instrumentum Laboris of the Synod mostly refer to Dei Verbum but they need to be complemented by Gaduium et Spes with its call for dialogue with the world. “In Asia, the proclamation of the word demands dialogue and incultur- ation as requirements of the Word Incarnate,” he added (Zenit [13 October 2008]). Bishop Gregor Maria Hanke of Eichstatt (Germany) was quite emphatic in stres- sing the unique role of logos in God’s never-ending, boundless revelation:

209 STUDIES IN INTERRELIGIOUS DIALOGUE 19 (2009) 2

The key should be the correct understanding of what Word of God means. The Word of God does not end with the published Bible nor with the announcement of the Word. In fact, the written Word does not have the same depth as the Word-Logos revealed in the Incarnation. The force of the written and proclaimed Word nourishes itself on the continuous presence in world history of this greater Word-Action. This context makes the letters that make up the Holy Scripture the Word of God that travels with today’s man and opens in him the dialogue of God with man. (Zenit [13 October 2008]) Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, the President of the Pontifical Council for Interre- ligious Dialogue stated The Word has always had a decisive role in the understanding of religious phenomenon. A patrimony of spiritual experiences was created, little by little. It was transmitted and interpreted. Thus, the Sacred Books were born. All the great religions have their own Sacred Books …. These books are qualified by the term “sacred” because those reading them consider them as coming from Elsewhere, transmitted by inspired persons and revealing something of the mystery of a visible and invisible world. (Zenit [13 October 2008) Bishop Rimantas Norvila of Vilkaviskis (Lithuania) said: I would like to underline what was mentioned in No. 57 of the Instrumentum Laboris regarding the research into the so-called “history of effects” of the Bible in culture and the common ethos. We cannot forget the fruits that the Word of God, fallen as a seed, produced and continues to produce in the hearts of the faithful and of all people of good will, and consequently, in all of history. This abundant fruit cannot be forgotten for it yields “a harvest, thirty and sixty and a hundredfold” ([Mark] 4:20), hidden beneath “dis- cord”. It would be appropriate to show “history of grace and truth” that cannot be reduced to the “history of sin.” (Zenit [13 October 2008) Bishop Kurt Koch of Basel (Switzerland) re-echoed the traditional Christian understanding of the logos when he reminded the assembly that the Word of God is a Person, the Son of God incarnate and, therefore, he precedes Holy Scripture. Accordingly, without an intimate relationship in friendship with this Person, even the letter of the Holy Scripture remains mute (Zenit [14 October 2008). The one who really created an indelible impression in the Synod hall in speaking explicitly about the concept of semina Verbi was the Salesian Cardinal of Hong Kong, Joseph Zen. He stated: I would like to focus for a moment on the Word of God as Creator of the beauty of the universe and of human beings, gifted with intelligence and heart and, therefore, capable of dialogue with its Creator. This aspect of the Word is present in the Instrumentum Laboris, but coming from a country where the Revealed Word strictly speaking has not reached many and where, on the other hand, there is an abundance of semina Verbi in pop- ular cultural wisdom, I would like to come back to the question and to express some personal wishes. My first wish is that this aspect of the Word be sufficiently developed in the

210 LOGOS: A BRIDGE-BUILDER FOR INTERRELIGIOUS DIALOGUE final text and that some pertinent recommendations are made by the Assembly. (Zenit [16 October 2008) Unfortunately, the Chinese Cardinal’s wish was not realized in the Final State- ment of the Synod, even though he illustrated what he said with two captivating concrete examples from his lived reality in Hong Kong (cf. Zenit [16 October 2008]). Although in No.14 of the Final Message of the Synod we find a glowing appreciation of the various values and riches not only in the major non-Christian religions, such as Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism but also in the traditional religions, the concept of “seeds of the Word” (semina Verbi) has disappeared altogether from the text. The same can be said about the Synod Pro- positions that were drafted and voted upon during the last few sessions of the Synod; it is sad but true that this concept is not even mentioned in any of the 55 Propositions voted upon by the Synod that eventually will form the basis for a customary subsequent Apostolic Exhortation by the Pope.2

Thus, anyone who carefully scrutinizes the occurrence and use of the traditional concept “seeds of the Word” in the gradual process of the preparation for the recent Synod on the Word of God would notice that it occurs throughout in both the Lineamenta and the Instrumentum Laboris. It is then picked up and highlighted by a few eloquent Synod Fathers. But, unfortunately, it is not even mentioned in either the Synod Propositions or in the Final Message.

Conclusion The concept of the “seeds of the Word” that was derived from (and used in close association with) the concept of logos has had wide acceptance within the Chris- tian tradition, in understanding the reality of other religions/cultures, especially in the early Church, as we saw above. But, in between, until about the twentieth century, these two concepts remained almost dormant within the tradition, “forgotten” as Oesterreicher would say (cited above). Then, as we saw above, they were “resurrected” officially by the Second Vatican Council teachings, and ever since, in a world of increasing multireligious and multicultural realities, the recent magisterium has re-evoked the traditional Christian understanding of them as a proper way to understand God’s activity outside the visible Church. In fact, when Pope Benedict XVI delivered his well-publicized discourse at Regensburg in Sep- tember 2006, he quoted from and discussed an argument made by the Byzantine

2 The official processes of the Synods called by successive post-conciliar popes have customarily closed with a final Papal document called an “Apostolic Exhortation,” based on the proceedings, interventions, discussions of the Synod and, last but not least, on the propositions adopted by the Synod. Such Apostolic Exhortations form an important part of Roman Catholic magisterial teachings.

211 STUDIES IN INTERRELIGIOUS DIALOGUE 19 (2009) 2

Emperor Manuel II Paleologos in a 1391 dialogue with an “educated Persian.” In this papal discourse, among other crucial points, he also underlined the importance of considering the encounter in history of the Greek concept logos and the biblical message as part of Providence and not merely as an accident of history when he said: Is the conviction that acting unreasonably contradicts God’s nature merely a Greek idea, or is it always and intrinsically true? I believe that here we can see the profound harmony between what is Greek in the best sense of the word and the biblical understanding of faith in God. Modifying the first verse of the Book of Genesis, John began the prologue of his Gospel with the words: “In the beginning was the logos.” This is the very word used by the emperor: God acts with logos. Logos means both reason and word – a reason which is creative and capable of self-communication, precisely as reason. John thus spoke the final word on the biblical concept of God, and in this word all the often toilsome and tor- tuous threads of biblical faith find their culmination and synthesis. In the beginning was the logos, and the logos was God, says the Evangelist. The encounter between the biblical message and Greek thought did not happen by chance. (Pope Benedict XVI 2006: 2) As such, from a Christian point of view, it is no exaggeration to say that the two concepts, logos and its close relative logos spermatikos, have become vital elements of the living Christian tradition. Consequently, they are not an added ap- pendix to the tradition nor are they secondary elements of the inherited traditional Christian belief. In fact, recently when those few Synod Fathers invoked these concepts in understanding the undeniable contemporary phenomenon of pluralism of religions and cultures, they were only drawing out elements from the accumu- lated Christian wisdom. It is precisely in this sense that the eventual unceremoni- ous disappearance of the concept of the “seeds of the Word” from the Final Mes- sage and the Propositions is to be regretted. One only hopes that at least in the customary “last act” of the process of a Synod, i.e. the Pope’s Apostolic Exhorta- tion, would render these two related concepts their due place.

In his official public greeting given to the members of the International Jewish Committee on Interreligious Consultations, hardly a week after the Synod, Pope Benedict XVI said: In our troubled world, so frequently marked by poverty, violence and exploitation, dialogue between cultures and religions must more and more be seen as a sacred duty incumbent upon all those who are committed to building a world worthy of man. (Zenit, 30 October 2008) So, as the Pope himself teaches, interreligious dialogue is “a sacred duty” in our contemporary world. A fine theological basis for this duty is already well established in the tradition in and through the concept of the “seeds of the Word” in its relationship to the concept of logos. Thus, the concept of logos and its understanding in the Christian tradition could well be used in our contemporary world as a

212 LOGOS: A BRIDGE-BUILDER FOR INTERRELIGIOUS DIALOGUE theological bridge-builder in promoting interreligious dialogue, provided the traditional theological foundations of logos are further deepened according to the signs of our times. Basically, it is a matter of recognizing God’s active presence everywhere, even/also outside the institutional, visible church, and then taking serious note of the implications of such an active divine presence for theology. After all, interreligious dialogue is nothing but a recovering (if not discovering) of the “seeds of the Word” from wherever the eternal logos has scattered them under the blowing of the Holy Spirit, and then nurturing them so that they may germinate and bear abundant fruit as God wills. For no one could tell God’s Spirit where to blow and where not to, and the eternal Word (logos) where to sow his “seeds of the Word” (logos spermatikos) and where not to sow. That is to say, theology has to take God’s active presence all over his creation seriously, by paying serious attention to the ubiquitous activity of the logos always together with his Spirit.

LITERATURE Benedict XVI. (2006). “Three Stages in the Program of De-Hellenization.” Papal Address at University of Regensburg. Zenit – Daily Dispatch (12 September). Dupuis, Jacques. (1997). Toward a Christian Theology of Religious Pluralism. New York: Orbis Books. Falls, Thomas B. (1948). Saint Justin Martyr. Washington D.C.: The Catholic University of America Press. “Final Message of the Synod.” (2008). Zenit – Daily Dispatch (24 Ocober). John Paul II (1979). Redemptoris Hominis. (1986). Dominum et Vivificantem. (1991). Redemptoris Missio. Machado, Felix Anthony. (2008). “The Word of God in Dialogue with Hinduism and Buddhism.” Sedos Bulletin 40: 66-71. McKenzie, John L. (1965). Dictionary of the Bible, London: Geoffrey Chapman. Pp. 938- 41. Mendoza, Ruben C. (2006). “Ray of Truth that Enlightens All: Nostra Aetate and Its Reception by the FABC.” Studies in Interreligious Dialogue 16: 148-72. Merlo, Paolo. (1995). Liberi per vivere secondo il Logos: Principi e criteri dell’agire morale in San Giustino filosofo e martire. Rome: Libreria Ateneo Salesiano. Moloney, Francio J. (1989). “Johannine Theology.” In: Raymond E. Brown, Joseph A. Fitzmyer and Rolan E. Murphy (eds). The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. London: Geoffrey Chapman. Pp.1417-26. Myers, Allen C. et. al. (eds). (1987). The Eerdman’s Bible Dictionary. Michigan: William B. Eerdmans. Pp. 1064-65. Oesterreicher, John M. (1969). “Declaration on the Relationship of the Church to Non- Christian Religions: Introduction and Commentary.” In: Herbert Vorgrimler (ed.). Commentary on the Documents of Vatican II. Vol. III. New York: Herder and Herder. Pp. 1-136. Paul VI. (1975). Evangeli Nuntiandi.

213 STUDIES IN INTERRELIGIOUS DIALOGUE 19 (2009) 2

Perkins, Pheme. (1989). “The Gospel According to John.” In: Raymond E. Brown, Joseph A. Fitzmyer and Rolan E. Murphy (eds.). The New Jerome Biblical Commentary London: Geoffrey Chapman. Pp. 942-85. Pontifical Council for Inter-Religious Dialouge and the Congregation for the Evangelizing of Peoples. (1991). “Dialogue and Proclamation: Reflections and Orientations on Inter-Religious Dialogue and the Proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.” Bulletin 77: 210-50. Ratzinger, Joseph. (1969). “The Dignity of the Human Person.” In: Herbert Vorgrimler (ed.). Commentary on the Documents of Vatican II. Vol.V. New York: Herder & Herder. Pp. 115-63. Ries, Julien. (1992). I Cristiani e Le Religioni: Dagli Atti degli Apostoli al Vaticano II, Brescia: Editrice Queriniana. “Synod Interventions.” (2008). Zenit – Daily Dispatch (13 October). “Synod Interventions.” (2008). Zenit – Daily Dispatch (14 October). “Synod Interventions.” (2008). Zenit – Daily Dispatch (15 October). “Synod Interventions.” (2008). Zenit – Daily Dispatch (16 October). “Synod Propositions.” (2008). Zenit – Daily Dispatch (28 October). Synod of Bishops, XII Ordinary General Assembly. (2007). “The Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church.” Lineamenta. Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2007. (2008). “The Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church.” Instrumentum Laboris Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana,. Tobin, Thomas, H. (1992). “Logos.” In: David Noel Freedman et al. (eds.). The Anchor Bible Dictionary. Vol. 4. New York: Doubleday. Pp.348-56. Wood, Simon P. (1954). Clement of Alexandria, Washington D.C.: The Catholic Uni- versity of America Press. “World Seen from Rome.” (2008). Zenit – Daily Dispatch (30 October).

214