This thesis examines John Zizioulas\u2019 ecclesiology of \u2018the one and the many\u2019 in the context of eucharistic ecclesiology.\u00a0By comparing Zizioulas\u2019\u00a0ecclesiology with Nicholas Afanasiev\u2019s, I show how Zizioulas articulates an ecclesiology of communion in otherness based on his unique concept of \u2018the one and the many.\u2019 In Zizioulas\u2019 structure of the Church, the bishop stands out as the indispensable icon of Christ in the Eucharist. Through him as the \u2018one,\u2019 the local church is constituted by the \u2018many\u2019 members, the \u2018one\u2019 local church\u00a0remains in communion with the \u2018many\u2019\u00a0other churches to constitute the one Church, and the \u2018one\u2019\u00a0(protos) can exercise synodical primacy over the \u2018many\u2019 episcopal churches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These are the primary insights in this dissertation:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1) Zizioulas\u2019 ecclesiology is based on a synthesis of the ideas of the Church Fathers Ignatius, Irenaeus, Hippolytus, the Cappadocian Fathers and Maximus, all of whom Zizioulas cites extensively to argue persuasively that the central act of the Church is the Eucharist which constitutes the Church which is in turn simultaneously constituted as the Body of Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2) Although the Church is historically in the world and deeply involved in the world, she is not of the world because her true being is derived from the eschaton. This is because she is the eschatological community of the Holy Spirit and of Jesus Christ in whom humanity finds its everlasting being and its true image.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
3) Although Zizioulas\u2019 ecclesiology has its critics and short-comings, it is an advance beyond Afanasiev\u2019s eucharistic ecclesiology in that it offers us a blueprint for the re-unification of all episcopal churches under one primate through conciliar structures modelled after Zizioulas\u2019 theological concept of \u2018the one and the many.\u2019 This may be applied to the local church, the regional synods comprising of bishops and a universal synod comprising of all the patriarchs, provided that the concept of communion and autonomy is respected in every local church.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n