The Church in the Pluriverse: Open Orthodoxy for Worldwide Communion

precis:

This essay explores the post- and decolonial concept of the pluriverse as it relates to the perennial tension between unity and diversity in the Christian faith. At root, the pluriverse is a vision of "a world in which many worlds fit" that entails respect and dignity across radical and incommensurable difference. Yet, the pluriverse also has space for common commitments and projects shared between radically different worlds. When applied to the Christian faith, the church itself can be understood as a pluriverse, and orthodoxy is reconfigured as a plural enterprise that takes shape differently in different settings, thereby assuming and celebrating particularity and difference even as a commitment to right belief is maintained across Christian contexts. Moreover, common ground in Christ and a common commitment to faithfulness opens space for interaction and mutual edification across difference. I deem this situated and connected practice "open orthodoxy." The structure of this proposal will unfold in two movements. First, I will present insights from the pluriversal discussion, which includes voices from postcolonial and decolonial thought, anthropology, sociology, ethics, and political theory. This section will be ordered around four aspects of pluriversal difference: radical difference, related difference, dignified difference, and aligned difference. Second, I will situate the church in a pluriversal setting to glean lessons from what has come before, beginning with a biblical argument for the church as a pluriverse and exploring the theological themes of confession, commonality, and orthodoxy as they relate to the pluriversal aspects of difference listed above. Ultimately, open orthodoxy will be presented as a viable practice for the church in a world that continues to recognize and reckon with its plurality.