Orthodox Review of Spirituality and Theology
Orthodox Review of Spirituality and Theology
Hervé Legrand
Hervé Legrand, o.p.. Honorary Professor at the Faculty of Catholic Theology in Paris, where he directed the Higher Institute of Ecumenical Studies, expert of the Joint Committee for Catholic-Orthodox Theological Dialogue in France (1973-2011), he was a founding member of the Saint-Irenaeus International Working Group between Catholics and Orthodox.
Published articles (1)
The Moscow Council of 1917: a synodality as close as possible to the theology of the people of GodThis article by Catholic theologian Hervé Legrand, O.P., focuses on the local Council of Moscow of 1917-1918 and its ecclesiological significance. Drawing on a comparative and critical study, it examines the notion of synodality in Catholic and Orthodox theology, carefully distinguishing between the often-confused terms of synodality, conciliarity, and collegiality. The main argument is that the Moscow Council constitutes a legitimate and theologically grounded correction of the trajectory imposed by Peter the Great, without thereby democratizing the Church in the political sense of the term. Legrand refutes the criticisms of Fathers Afanassieff and Schmemann by showing that the Council preserved the canonical articulation between the patriarch, the bishops, and the people of God. The article makes a twofold contribution: it illuminates the common Trinitarian foundations of Catholic and Orthodox ecclesiologies, and offers a positive reassessment of the Moscow Council as a model of institutionally balanced synodality.
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