The Canonical Tradition as an Answer to the Challenges of the Postmodern Crisis in the Church Community

Abstract

The author of the paper tries to answer to a fundamental question: is the Church in a position to provide an answer to the challenges of modern society, as well as to her own life? The paper emphasizes that individualism destroys the consciousness of catholicity of the Church. One aspect of this consciousness is that the various ministries of the Church hierarchy find their mutual acknowledgment and meaning within the Eucharist and the guiding principle of each ministry is kenosis. The consciousness of participation in the Holy Communion has changed as well. For some, it becomes an obligation pertaining to their ecclesiastical ministry, while for others it becomes an expression of individual piety. This participation becomes a matter of ideology, passive psychological communication, or satisfaction of one’s religious needs. Thus, the author underlines that the threat of individualism remains real at all levels of Church life, personal and institutional. The author proposes that the correct ecclesiastical solution to this issue is only possible within the framework of the authentic Orthodox understanding of the Eucharist: as an event of participation into the Body of Christ at one and the same place.