A Catholic rereading of the ecclesiological decisions of the Moscow Council in the light of Vatican II
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This article by Barbara Hallensleben offers a Catholic rereading of the ecclesiological decisions of the Moscow Council of 1917-1918 in light of the contributions of Vatican II. Adopting a theological and philosophical approach, the author draws notably on Giorgio Agamben's thought on the Trinitarian oikonomia to ground a theology of ecclesial governance. The central idea is that governance is not a secondary aspect of the life of the Church, but the sacramental expression of its participation in the reign of Christ Pantocrator. From this perspective, the article examines the tensions between primacy and synodality, between the deliberative and consultative functions of synods, as well as the participation of the laity in conciliar bodies. The main theological contribution lies in the proposal, drawing on Sergei Bulgakov, to develop a "lived dogma of power" capable of grounding conciliarity ecclesiologically beyond its purely institutional canonical forms.
This article has not been translated yet — it is available in its French version here.
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