Staniloae: Natural, Universal, and Ordained Priesthood - Pro Ecclesia

414 Radu Bordeianu PRO ECCLESIA VOL. XIX, No. 4 415

the body, but sustained by it.... The general communion of the Church,sustained by the Spirit of Christ, fills with its life-giving breath all theconstitutive organs of the Church, including the hierarchy.... And thecommunion of the hierarchy extends its spirit in the entire communion ofthe Church."

Hence, because the clergy are not above the church, but within it, hi-erarchy and communion do not stand in tension. Staniloae's analogy ofthe two circles suggests that ordained priesthood is part of the priesthoodof the church, while the distinction between these is maintained, so thatthey can interact and enrich each other in communion. Later in the article,Staniloae stated explicitly that "the members of the hierarchy are a partof the general communion of the Church not only through this specialcomplementarity with the non-ordained people of the Church, but alsothrough the fact that they are members of the Church in need of salvation,who make efforts for their sanctification and perfection."35 Moreover,starting from the fact that the minor orders are not properly part of theclergy but are consecrated for specific liturgical tasks, Staniloae affirmedthat the distinction between the clergy and the people is not abrupt butgradual, and there is certainly no separation between the twO.36 ForStaniloae, there is only one common work of the church, since there is oneSpirit present in it. But the Spirit imparts differentcharisms to differentmembers, and ordained priesthood is one of these gifts or charisms-sucha significant statement! In Staniloae's words,

In this unity of the gifts and ministries in the Church, explained by theunity of organism of the Church and by the unity of the Spirit in it, areincluded also the ministries and gifts of the hierarchy. But only in part.That is because, on the one hand, they do not remain exterior to the otherministries and cannot be exercised without their fulfillment through theactivation of all the gifts in the Church. But, on the other hand, the minis-tries and gifts of the hierarchy are different from all other gifts and minis-tries, because they represent the basis of the transcendent origin of all theother gifts and ministries, generating and activating them."

Again, Staniloae's statement that priesthood is a charism among theother gifts of the Spirit is very significant. At the same time, the hierarchyrepresents the means through which the faithful are entrusted with differentcharisms in the sense that ordained ministers baptize and chrismate people

34. Dumitru Staniloae, "Temeiurile teologice ale ierarhiei si ale sinodalitatii" [The theo-logical foundations of hierarchy and synodality], StudiiTeologice 22, nos. 3-4 (1970): 171-72.Given these considerations, Staniloae would probably agree with the definition of thechurch as "hierarchic communion" in LumenGentium 21.

35. Staniloae, "The Theological Foundations of Hierarchy and Synodality," 177.36. Dumitru Staniloae, "Slujirile bisericesti si atributiile lor" [Ecclesial ministries and their

attributions], Ortodoxia 22, no. 3 (1970):468.37. Staniloae, "The Theological Foundations of Hierarchy and Synodality," 176-77.

in the church, which is a condition for the reception of the Spirit's unmedi-ated gifts by all the faithful. Moreover, given the communitarian characterof the church, the hierarchy unites charisms, orienting them toward thebuilding up of the body of Christ. Simultaneously, all other charisms are acondition for the proper functioning of the gifts of the hierarchy. As previ-ously stated, the inclusion of the ordained within the universal priesthoodof the church does not deprive Ordination of content, but rather insures itscommunion with the rest of the faithful. Staniloae's theology needs to be ap-propriated and developed adequately, providing a corrective to unilateralapproaches to priesthood primarily from the perspective of Ordination.

Sharing in Christ's Three Offices

Another important aspect of Staniloae's theology of universal priesthoodis that the faithful manifest their universal ministry by sharing in Christ'soffices of king, priest, and prophet. On an ecumenical note, even thoughStaniloae attributed the systematization of priesthood into three officesto Eastern ecclesial tradition without giving any specific references." itis known that in fact we owe it to Calvin's Institutes/" And yet, Calvin'ssystematization is not without precedent. Each of these offices can be eas-ily defended on scriptural and patristic grounds, so Staniloae here showsagain how an Orthodox-Protestant encounter is beneficial for systematiz-ing Eastern thought on priesthood.v

38. This is one of Andrew Louth's reasons to affirm that Staniloae's departure from man-ual theology was incomplete. He writes, "Fr. Dumitru declares that it is patristic (without anyreferences), but it was only with Calvin's Institutes that the notion of Christ's threefold officeassumed the structural significance with which he invests it. There is nothing wrong with anOrthodox borrowing from Calvin, though it would be gracious to admit it: Fr. Dumitru, how-ever, was probably borrowing from Orthodox Dogmatics." Andrew Louth, "The OrthodoxDogmatic Theology of Dumitru Staniloae," in Dumitru Staniloae: Tradition and Modernity inTheology, ed. Lucian Turcescu (Iasi, Romania, and Palm Beach, FL:Center for Romanian Stud-ies, 2002),62. In response to Louth, I argue that Staniloae's use of the three offices is rather an~tance of "ope~ sob.ornicity," understood as the acceptance of any valid theological insightID other theologies WIthout running the risk of doctrinal relativism. Dumitru Staniloae, "So-bornicitate deschisa" [Open sobornicity], Ortodoxia 23, no. 2 (1971): 171,178.

39. John Calvin, Institutesof theChristian Religion, ed. John T. McNeill, trans. Ford LewisBattles, vol. 1 (Louisville, KY:Westminster John Knox Press, 2006),494. Chapter 15 in book2 of the first volume is entitled, "To Know the Purpose for Which Christ Was Sent by theFather, and What He Conferred Upon Us, We Must Look Above All at Three Things inHim: The Prophetic Office, Kingship, and Priesthood." See also Louth's contention in theprevious footnote.

40. Here are two examples in this sense: first, Macarius affirmed: "Spiritual men, who are~ointed.with the heavenly unction, become Christs according to grace, so that they too arekings, priests, and prophets of heavenly mysteries." (Homily 27:4,PG 34:696BC,Homily 17:1,P~ 34:624BC,quoted in ~~ul Evdokimov, The Sacrament of Love: TheNuptialMystery in theLlghtoftheOrthodox Tradition, trans. Anthony P. Gythiel and Victoria Steadman [Crestwood,NY: S~. Vladimir's Seminary Press, 1985J,88.) Second, in Calvin's above-mentioned chapter,the third footnote makes reference to Thomas Aquinas's Summa Theologiae Illa q. 22, art. I, rp3, which reads: "Wherefore, as to others, one is a lawgiver [i.e., prophet], another is a priest,another is king; but all these concur in Christ as the fount of all grace."