Church, Ecumenism and Liturgy: Unfolding Synodality

Dear Colleagues,

The essays in this Special Issue respond broadly to the call of the Working Document of for the Continental Stage of the current Catholic Synod for a Synodal Church to “develop research addressing questions of synodality” (no. 80). That same document describes “generative tensions” the authors gathered in their review of synodal reports from Catholic ecclesial bodies to date: listening, mission, participation, structures, and the liturgy (no. 11). Tensions are doubtless evident, in theology and in ecclesial life more broadly. What might synodality have to offer in these areas to facilitate the generativity of those tensions?

As described in the 2018 International Theological Commission (ITC), the document on “Synodality in the Life and Mission of the Church,” “synodality” is a neologism emerging from continued reflection on the Christian life over the past half-century (no. 5). Informed by a strain of theological inquiry in early twentieth-century ressourcement theology, the theology of synodality extends from the early Christian practice of gathering in council to address controversies to the church’s deep roots in each particular place, culture, and context. Like “sacrament,” “communion,” “pilgrimage,” or mystical body theology, “synodality” is not merely an ecclesiological theme, metaphor, or model, but a theology of the whole Christian life, a way of being in the world. Thus, investigations of synodality—its promises and/or its challenges—have not only christological and pneumatological ramifications, but also implications for liturgical and ecumenical theology and practice. In other words, there are various “folds” of synodality that call for investigation and elaboration.

Ecumenical engagement has both illuminated synodality as a characteristic of ecclesial life (World Council of Churches’ Commission on Faith and Order, The Church: Towards a Common Vision, 2013, no. 53) and raised questions about how those engagements themselves might be transformed by living synodality more fully. Indeed, synodal reflection may introduce a different set of tasks or considerations across a fractured Christian communion. For example, in some Christian communities sustained reflection upon and enactment of synodality might drive toward fuller consideration of their rootedness in a particular culture, context, place. In others, it may elucidate the connection between local congregations and the church universal.

If the liturgy is the womb from which Christians are born (Boselli xii), in what ways are liturgies expressions of synodality? What insights about synodality might be derived from careful attention to Christian worship? Does a lens of synodality lead to fresh insights on questions of inculturation, reform, or celebration of liturgy? What does it mean to be synodal people who worships?

Additional examples of topics or questions to consider include:

• Theological roots of synodality and their implications for ecclesiology, ecumenism,liturgical theology, interreligious dialogue and other areas of Christian theology and practice.
• Critiques of presentations of synodality in ecclesiastical documents and/or theological writings.
• Historical and contextual investigations of the practice and theology of synods and synodality across the histories of the churches.
• How might other disciplines (sociology, ethnography, cultural theories, ) broaden or thicken theological accounts of synodality?
• Analyses of communities—intra- or inter-confessional—that have been or would benefit from collaborating in a synodal way.
• Exploration of new insights that emerge in liturgical theology or theology or prayer from the perspective of synodality.
• As ecumenical endeavors continue, how might they be revived by a theology and practice of synodality?
• How might various Christian communions receive and embrace synodality within their own theology and practice?

Boselli, Goffredo. The Spiritual Meaning of the Liturgy. Translated by Barry Hudock. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2014.

Bruce, Tricia C. Parish and Place: Making Room for Diversity in the American Catholic Church. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2017.

Denysenko, Nicholas E. “Primacy, Synodality, and Collegiality in Orthodoxy: A Liturgical Model” Journal of Ecumenical Studies 48, no. 1 (Winter 2013): 20–44.

General Secretariat of the Synod. “Enlarge the Space of Your Tent”: Working Document for the Continental Stage of the Synod for a Synodal Church. Vatican City, October 2022. Available from: https://www.synod.va/en/highlights/working-document-for-the-continental-stage.html.

International Theological Commission. Synodality in the Life and Mission of the Church. Vatican City, 2 March 2018. Available from: https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/cti_documents/rc_cti_20180302_sinodalita_en.html.

Melloni, Alberto and Silvia Scatena, eds. Synod and Synodality: Theology, History, Canon Law, and Ecumenism in New Contact. Münster: LIT Verlag, 2005.

Miller, Vincent J. “Synodality and the Sacramental Mission of the Church: The Struggle for Communion in a World Divided by Colonialism and Neoliberal Globalization.” Theological Studies 83, no. 1 (March 2022): 8–24.

O’Loughlin, Thomas. “Synodality Needs to Express Itself in Liturgy.” The Japan Mission Journal 76, no.1 (Spring 2022): 27–38.

Osheim, Amanda C. “Stepping toward a Synodal Church.” Theological Studies 80, no. 2 (2019): 370–92.

Ruddy, Christopher. The Local Church: Tillard and the Future of Catholic Ecclesiology. New York: Crossroad, 2006.

World Council of Churches. The Church: Towards a Common Vision. Faith and Order Paper No. 214. Geneva: WCC Publications, 2013.

We request that, prior to submiting a manuscript, interested authors initially submit a proposed title and an abstract of 400–600 words summarizing their intended contribution. Please send it to the guest editors ([email protected] and [email protected]) or to the Religions editorial office ([email protected]). Abstracts will be reviewed by the guest editors for the purposes of ensuring proper fit within the scope of the Special Issue. Full manuscripts will undergo double-blind peer-review.

Dr. Timothy Gabrielli
Dr. Derek C. Hatch
Guest Editors

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• synodality
• synod/s
• liturgy
• ecumenism
• ecclesiology