Response to Panayotis Nellas

This article by Elisabeth Behr-Sigel constitutes a polemical and theological response addressed to the theologian Panayotis Nellas, published in the journal *Contacts*. Taking the form of a critical clarification, it first corrects the erroneous attributions that Nellas had made to the author, before setting out an Orthodox conception of the episcopate and collegiality. The central idea is that the bishop, inserted into the apostolic succession of divine institution, exercises a real spiritual power but one distinct from other charisms, exercised not over the Church but within it. Behr-Sigel defends the notion of the episcopal college against a reading that would make it a body separate from the Christian people, and evaluates positively the evolution of Vatican II toward a collegiality bringing the Roman Church closer to Orthodox ecclesiology. The contribution of the article lies in its clarification of the patristic foundations of Orthodox episcopal authority in an ecumenical context.