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Identity and Christ: the Ecclesiological and Soteriological

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Duquesne University Duquesne Scholarship Collection Electronic Theses and Dissertations Spring 2012 Identity and Christ: The cclesiologE ical and Soteriological Implications of Raimon Panikkar's Cosmotheandric Theology Michael Martocchio Follow this and additional works at: https://dsc.duq.edu/etd Recommended Citation Martocchio, M. (2012). Identity and Christ: The cE clesiological and Soteriological Implications of Raimon Panikkar's Cosmotheandric Theology (Doctoral dissertation, Duquesne University). Retrieved from https://dsc.duq.edu/etd/886 This Immediate Access is brought to you for free and open access by Duquesne Scholarship Collection. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Duquesne Scholarship Collection. For more information, please contact [email protected]. IDENTITY AND CHRIST: THE ECCLESIOLOGICAL AND SOTERIOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS OF RAIMON PANIKKAR‘S COSMOTHEANDRIC THEOLOGY A Dissertation Submitted to the McAnulty Graduate School of Liberal Arts Duquesne University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy By Michael J. Martocchio May 2012 Copyright by Michael J. Martocchio 2012 IDENTITY AND CHRIST: THE ECCLESIOLOGICAL AND SOTERIOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS OF RAIMON PANIKKAR‘S COSMOTHEANDRIC THEOLOGY By: Michael J. Martocchio Approved: February 22, 2012 ______________________________ Gerald Boodoo, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Theology (Committee Chair) ______________________________ __________________________________ Aimee Light, Ph.D. Sebastian Madathummuriyil, S.T.D., Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Theology Assistant Professor of Theology (Committee Member) (Committee Member) ______________________________ __________________________________ James Swindal, Ph.D. George Worgul, S.T.D., Ph.D. Acting Dean, McAnulty Graduate Chair, Theology Department School of Liberal Arts Professor of Theology iii ABSTRACT IDENTITY AND CHRIST: THE ECCLESIOLOGICAL AND SOTERIOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS OF RAIMON PANIKKAR‘S COSMOTHEANDRIC THEOLOGY By Michael J. Martocchio May 2012 Dissertation supervised by Gerald Boodoo, Ph.D. One of the most influential figures in recent theological reflection upon interreligious dialogue is Raimon Panikkar. Panikkar was an ordained Catholic priest who also practiced the Hindu and Buddhist faiths. Panikkar lived a life of mystical faith in which his identity was simultaneously Christian, Hindu, and Buddhist, a phenomenon often called ‗multiple belonging‘. However, this mystical unity is not merely an element of Panikkar‘s faith life, but it also essential to his theology. In fact, it is mystical unity that underlies the very concept of identity in Panikkar‘s thought. Identity is found through union. It is in the realization of this unity that the concept of ‗Christ‘ comes into play. Christ is the principle of this identifying unity, which is found throughout all of Reality. Panikkar‘s overall theological vision can best be described by his own term: ‗cosmotheandric‘, which describes this unity of all of reality in its three poles: the world (cosmos), God (Theos), and Human (Aner). In this way, the very nature of Reality itself iv is Trinitarian. With this in mind, this dissertation seeks to deduce the ecclesiological and soteriological implications of this theological vision. The key to understanding Panikkar‘s ecclesiology and soteriology is the interrelation of the concepts of ‗Christ‘ and ‗identity‘. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I would like to thank Dr. Gerald Boodoo for his wisdom and guidance in the formation and completion of this project. I would also like to thank Dr. Aimee Light and Dr. Sebastian Madathummuriyil for their insightful comments and advice. Special thanks and gratitude are also due to Dr. George Worgul, the chair of the Theology Department and the entire Duquesne faculty, past and present. Each of my teachers at Duquesne has, in a unique way, helped to form my theological understanding and inspired me through the years. I would also like to thank all of my fellow graduate student and part time faculty colleagues who have enhanced my experiences over the years at Duquesne. I would also like to thank my wife Kristen, who has constantly been my source of strength and endurance. I would also like to thank my daughter Francesca, who has brought so much joy to my life. Thank you, as well, to my parents, my siblings and their families, and all of my friends and family who have given me their love and support. Finally, I would ultimately like to thank God and all of God‘s family who provided me with the opportunity to encounter the Divine in diverse ways that transcend my calculations. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Abstract………………………………………………………………………………..…iv Acknowledgment.………………………………………………………………………..vi Introduction………………………………………………………………………….…..xi Chapter 1: Cosmotheandrism………………………………………………………….….1 1.1 Advaita and Trinity……………………………………………………….…..1 1.2 Reality and Trinity (Reality as Trinity)………………………………………6 1.3 Panikkar‘s Appropriation of Augustine…………………………………..….14 1.4 Panikkar on the Transcendence of the Father (Brahman)………..…………..20 1.5 The Son: The Ontological Expression of the Father…………………..……..25 1.6 The Spirit: The Unity of Silence and Expression………………...……..…...31 1.7 Jacques Dupuis: An Alternative Approach to the Advaita-Trinity Relationship…………………………………………….40 1.8 Dupuis and Panikkar: A Contrast………………………...………………….46 1.8.1 Panikkar‘s encounter between traditions is more radical and ‗risky‘ than that of Dupuis…………………………………………….…46 1.8.2 Panikkar allows those religious traditions to encounter one another on a level plane………………………………………………......48 1.9 Conclusion……………...……………………………………………….…...49 Chapter 2: Christ……………………………………………………………………....…50 2.1 The Evolving Worldview of Raimon Panikkar and the Resulting Christology…………………………………………………………….....51 vii 2.2 Christophany: Christ and the Humanum………………………………….…58 2.3 The Question of the Uniqueness of Christ: A First Glance……………….…60 2.4 Universality, Concreteness, and Christ………………………….……..…….63 2.5 Christ the Tempiternal……………………………………………….….…...66 2.6 Christ Enables Participation in the Divine, Trinitarian Life………….…..….68 2.7 S. Mark Heim on the Incarnation………………….…………………….…...71 2.8 Jacques Dupuis: A Helpful Dialogue Partner on Speaking of Christ Outside of Jesus………………………………………………………………...…73 2.9 Panikkar Accounts for the Connection between Christ and Jesus of Nazareth………………………………………………………….………98 2.10 Conclusion………………………………………………………...………103 Chapter 3: Identity……………………………………………………………………..105 3.1 East and West on Identity……………………………………………..…...105 3.2 Identity and Identification………………………………………………….111 3.3 The Humanum: One‘s Identity as a Human………………………………...116 3.4 Mythos and Logos…………………………………………………………..125 3.5 Myth and the Anthropological Level of Faith……………………………...131 3.6 A Philosophical Approach to Identity: Paul Ricoeur……………………….141 3.7 Postcolonialism and Identity: Homi K. Bhabha……………………………149 3.8 Conclusion…………………………………………………………….……157 Chapter 4: The Identity of Christ and Christian Identity………………………….……160 4.1 The Identity of Christ…………………………………………………….…160 4.1.1 The Identity of Jesus of Nazareth………………………………...160 viii 4.1.2 The Identity that the ‗Christophany‘ Reveals…………………….165 4.2 Christian Identity…………………………………………………………...167 4.2.1 Christian Identity as Human Identity……………………………..167 4.2.2 Panikkar‘s Ontology of Perspectivism…………………...……….171 4.2.3 Christian Worship Mediates Christian Identity……………...…...175 4.2.4 A Universal Religious Experience?………………………...….…178 4.2.5 The Impossibility of Religious Epoché: Christian Identity Cannot Be Denied………………………………………..…….182 4.2.6 Intrareligious Dialogue………………………………………..…188 4.2.7 The Type of Pluralism that Christian Identity Must Embrace…...194 4.2.8 Critical Evaluation: Parallelism…………………………………..197 4.2.9 A Unique Brand of Pluralism………………………………….....199 4.2.10 Critique: Is Such a Pluralistic Outlook Possible?.…………..…..207 4.2.11 Dialogue Fosters Growth………………………………………..219 4.2.12 Unity is at the Root of Christian Identity………………………..225 4.3 True Christian Identity is Established Mystically…………………………228 4.4 Conclusion………………………………………………………………….248 Chapter 5: Ecclesiological and Soteriological Implications……………………………250 5.1 Ecclesiology………………………………………………………………...250 5.2 Critical Evaluation: A Cosmic Christology Demands a Cosmic Ecclesiology………………………………………………………….....253 5.3 Soteriology…………...……………………………………………………..259 5.4 Critical Evaluation: The Freedom of Salvation and its Institutional ix Implications……………………………………………………………..275 5.5 Realizing Salvific Identity………………………..………………………...279 5.6 S. Mark Heim on Salvation and the Possibility of Multiple Religious Ends………………………………………………………….281 5.7 Critical Evaluation: Multiple Religious Ends or Multiple Human Conditions? …………………………………………………………….288 5.8 Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus………………………………………………..297 5.9 Synthesis: Soteriology, Ecclesiology, and Identity…………………………304 5.10 Conclusion………………………………………………………………...307 Conclusion………………………………………..………………………….…………310 Bibliography………………………………………………………………….……...…315 x Introduction In Catholic theology since the latter half of the twentieth century, increasingly greater attention has been given to interreligious dialogue. One of the great catalysts in this regard was the Second Vatican Council. The attitude of openness that built up prior to the council, and which the council channeled marked a decisive shift in tone from the previous more ‗exclusivist‘ attitude that can even be found in Pius XII‘s inspirational
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