Theology Working Group: Edward Siecienski (Stockton University), "The Papacy and the Christian East: Key Theological Questions in the Development of the Papacy"
Prof. Edward Siecienski of Stockton University will present to the working group "The Papacy and Eastern Christian Traditions" in its inaugural meeting this year. All interested members of the Notre Dame community are welcome to attend. It is a matter of historical record that the institution of the papacy has developed over the last two millennia, and thus it should not be surprising that Christian East’s response to it has evolved along with it. At the heart of this process were five key theological questions, including: Is the Primacy of Rome grounded in the will of Christ or is it a
concilliarly/imperially granted privilege? Is this primacy based on Rome’s apostolic pedigree or was it granted to Rome because of its political importance as capital of the empire? Can the primacy be lost either by imperial translation or the heresy of the Roman Bishop? Does this primacy of Rome grant to the Pope authority and power, or is it a “primacy of honor” that simply acknowledges Rome’s “Firstness” in the taxis (order) of the Church? Does the Primacy of Rome involve a unique monarchical power as “mother of all churches” or is Rome simply the “eldest sister” within the church’s pentarchical and conciliar structure?
A. Edward Siecienski attended Georgetown University before obtaining his M. Div/STL from St. Mary’s Seminary and
University and then a PhD in historical theology from Fordham University in 2005. He has been teaching at Stockton University in New Jersey since 2008, where he is Professor of Religion and Clement and Helen Pappas Professor of Byzantine Culture and Religion. He is the author of several books including The Filioque: History of a Doctrinal Controversy (2010), The Papacy and the Orthodox: Sources and History of a Debate (2017), Orthodoxy: A Very Short Introduction (2019), and Beards, Azymes, and Purgatory: The Other Issues that Divided East and West (2022).
Please contact Andrij Hlabse with any questions you have about this event.