Authority in the Church

Image Credit: Christ Pantocrator in the church of Santa Pudenziana in Rome, 

Roman mosaic, c. 410 AD

Today is the last day of the Second Annual EDI Florovsky-Newman Week, held today at St. George's Orthodox Christian Cathedral. We have been meeting since Wednesday evening on the campus of Newman University and have been discussing this theme:

The Patristic View of Authority: Bible, Pope, or Conciliarity?

Co-sponsored by Eighth Day Institute and the Gerber Institute for Catholic Studies, the Florovsky-Newman Week promotes a “return to the sources for Christian unity.” Heeding Fr. Florovsky's advice, rather than simply overlooking differences, this conference seeks to overcome the different views of church authority. And we do so by returning to the common Tradition, by learning to read the Fathers as living masters, rather than as historical documents. Our hope is for you to deepen your understanding of the authority by which the Church grounds her faith and morals, examining authority from our respective traditions as Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant Christians. Join us for this unique event as we dive into the Church Fathers in order to explore, challenge, and encourage one another to better love God and neighbor.

On Thursday and Friday mornings, we had academic papers on various topics about authority in East and West. I presented one on Newman and Papal Infallibility At least two students at Newman who are also in seminary training for the Catholic Diocese of Wichita gave papers, and we heard from Lutheran and Orthodox presenters--even a Mormon (the discussion of the Great Apostasy, though necessarily brief, was fascinating and disconcerting)! In the evenings, the plenary speakers, Lutheran and Catholic, presented their papers, and their counterparts responded to them--today the Orthodox speaker will make his presentation.

It has been a great short week or long weekend of presentations, conversations, lunch, fellowship and shopping at Eighth Day Books! More on this event again.