Trinitarian communion and ecclesial communion

This article by Father Boris Bobrinskoy explores the relationship between Trinitarian communion and ecclesial communion, situating itself within the Orthodox ecclesiological tradition inaugurated by Khomiakov and continued by the Paris School, Staniloae, and Zizioulas. Proceeding by way of theological meditation, the author takes as his guiding thread the New Testament notion of *koinōnia*, as developed by Saint Paul and Saint Basil of Caesarea. The central idea is that intra-Trinitarian communion — in which the Holy Spirit is at once Gift and Giver, the bond of love between the Father and the Son — constitutes the paradigm and source of ecclesial communion, realized in an eminent manner in the Eucharist. The contribution of the article lies in its systematic articulation between Basilian triadology, Eucharistic ecclesiology, and pneumatology, illustrated by Rublev's icon as a figure of communion that is at once closed and open to the world.