Dumitru Staniloae’s Trinitarian Ecclesiology : Orthodoxy and the Filioque

In this book, Viorel Coman explores the relevance of Dumitru Staniloae’s reflections on the interplay between the doctrine of the Trinity and the doctrine of the Church in light of the discussions about the ecclesiological consequences of the Eastern and Western Trinitarian models.

Dumitru Stăniloae is one of the most important but routinely neglected 20th-century Orthodox theologians. Viorel Coman explores the ecumenical relevance of Dumitru Stăniloae’s reflections on the interplay between the doctrine of the Trinity and the doctrine of the Church in the context of the debates on the ecclesiological ramifications of the filioque. Comancombines a historical and theological analysis of Stăniloae’s approach to the filioque, Trinity, and the Church. The historical analysis shows the changes that have taken place over time in Stăniloae’s approach to the issue of the filioque and the doctrine of the Church. The theological analysis emphasizes the ecumenical contribution of the Romanian thinker to field of Trinitarian theology and ecclesiology. Even though this book centers primarily around Stăniloae’s vision on the link between the doctrine of the Trinity and the Church, it places his theological reflections in a solid dialogue with other Eastern (Georges Florovsky, Vladimir Lossky, John Zizioulas) and Western theologians (Karl Barth, Yves Congar, Karl Rahner, Walter Kasper).