Pope Francis’ Emphasis on Synodality Cited in Joint Catholic-Orthodox Statement

The document concludes by “drawing lessons from the history that has been surveyed,” including that “major issues complicate an authentic understanding of synodality and primacy in the Church.”

“The Church is not properly understood as a pyramid, with a primate governing from the top, but neither is it properly understood as a federation of self-sufficient Churches,” the statement says.

“Our historical study of synodality and primacy in the second millennium has shown the inadequacy of both of these views,” it continues. “Similarly, it is clear that for Roman Catholics synodality is not merely consultative, and for Orthodox primacy is not merely honorific.”

The theological dialogue commission released the joint statement following its 15th plenary session in Alexandria, Egypt, June 1–7.

Ten Orthodox Churches were represented at the meeting, which was attended by 18 Catholic commission members.

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The previous joint statement of the commission, which was published in 2016 after a meeting in Chieti, Italy, examined the state of the Christian Church in the first millennium after Christ.

“Today,” the 2023 document says, “there is an increasing effort to promote synodality at all levels in the Roman Catholic Church. There is also a willingness to distinguish what might be termed the patriarchal ministry of the pope within the Western or Latin Church from his primatial service with regard to the communion of all the Churches, offering new opportunities for the future.”

The joint statement called for Roman Catholics and Orthodox to continue along a path of dialogue in charity in order to come to an authentic understanding of synodality and primacy “in light of the ‘theological principles, canonical provisions, and liturgical practices (Chieti, 21)’ of the undivided Church of the first millennium.”

Hannah Brockhaus is Catholic News Agency's senior Rome correspondent. She grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, and has a degree in English from Truman State University in Missouri.