Ecclesiology from Below in Contemporary Orthodox Christianity

Abstract

This article aims to critically and comparatively explore a recent model of ecclesiology from below as worked out by a contemporary Ukrainian Orthodox theologian and worldwide known scholar, Cyril Hovorun (b. 1974). In order to discern Hovorun’s original contribution to the field of Orthodox ecclesiology and its ecumenical potential, his doctrine of the church is placed in a wider scholarly context by emphasising the way in which the Ukrainian theologian is influenced by his main sources. Afterwards, the concrete implications of Hovorun’s ecclesiology from below are examined and some critical remarks are further articulated. Finally, this study sheds light on the strengths and shortcomings of Hovorun’s approach when compared with one of the most influential ecclesiological perspectives in contemporary Orthodox Christianity, namely, John Zizioulas’ eucharistic ecclesiology.