The Dominical Tradition in connection with synodality and primacy concerns the proper method for collegial governance of the Church of Christ by the universal episcopate. According to the Tradition of the first millennium, the authority of the protos, as first among equals, is exercised only within the synod, i.e., only with the cooperation of his brother bishops. Taking that truth into account, one must emphasize the fact that the protos of the synod does not have power over the other bishops; instead, he is said to be, as indicated above, the first among equals, and his authority is exercised legitimately only within the synod, and never outside of it or over it. To explain this doctrine more fully, synodality — properly understood — means that the protos (whether he be a pope or a patriarch) has no authority over the other self-governing local or regional Churches, because any concept of the supreme power of one bishop over another bishop, or of one Church over another Church, destroys the reality of communion, which is not about power over others, but which is instead about reciprocity and sharing in the common divine life of the body of Christ. In fact, in an ecclesiology of communion, or what Fr. Schmemann calls a "eucharistic ecclesiology," it is not possible for one Church or one bishop to have power over another Church or bishop, because each and every local Church is the full realization of the one holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. In other words, authority in the Church cannot be thought of as "power over others," but must be understood as "service to others." 

As a consequence, primacy must not be thought of in legal or jurisdictional terms, but must be seen in terms of service and love in support of communion. As Fr. Schmemann explains, "The essential corollary of this eucharistic ecclesiology is that it excludes the idea of a supreme power, understood as power over the local Church and her bishop," because as he goes on to say, "A supreme power would mean power over the Church, over the Body of Christ, over Christ Himself," and this is simply contrary to the Orthodox faith of the Church Fathers [John Meyendorff (Editor), The Primacy of Peter in the Orthodox Church, pages 38-39]. Bearing in mind what has already been said, it is clear that the "sacred authority" of popes and patriarchs — which is founded upon the unity of the sacrament of orders — is one of service, and so it must not be thought of in monarchical, legalistic, or jurisdictional terms. Moreover, this "sacred authority" is held equally by all who possess the grace of sacramental ordination to the episcopate [see the Ravenna Document, no. 25; and the Chieti Document, no. 16]. Ultimately, the eucharistic ecclesiology of the first millennium is opposed to the universalist ecclesiology of the Latin Church of the middle ages, which only developed due to the growth of Scholasticism and the isolation of the Latin Church from the great patristic tradition of the earliest centuries of the Christian era, which is the common patrimony of both East and West.

Finally, from an Eastern Christian perspective, following the teachings of the Holy Fathers, the pope has authority within his own patriarchal Church, but even within the Roman Church the pope himself is subject to Tradition, and so he cannot simply alter the liturgy or break with immemorial custom, nor can he change the moral doctrine of the Church, and there will continue to be liturgical and doctrinal upheavals within the Western Church until this truth is unequivocally reaffirmed. The reciprocity that should exist between the Churches in communion with each other is clearly expressed in the ancient Canon 34 of the Holy Apostles, which reads as follows:

Based upon the quotation above, which is taken from the Apostolic Constitutions, it is clear that reciprocity is essential to synodality. Clearly, the protos is not above the synod, nor can his authority be separated from the synod; in fact, the synod itself (i.e., all the bishops taken collectively including the protos) is the supreme authority in governing the Church. 

Copyright © 2024 Steven Todd Kaster