The Cross at the Heart of the Church

Can Eastern Orthodoxy apply the term “church” to other Christian communities?

Emerging from the 2016 Pan-Orthodox Council, this issue sparked one of the most heated ebated in contemporary Eastern Orthodoxy. According to Maican, grappling with this question within the current framework of Eastern Orthodox ecclesiology presents significant challenges. In this unifying work, he argues that neither the emphasis on the Eucharist nor the adherence to the Tradition of the Fathers is capable of accommodating legitimate Christian otherness. Instead, Maican proposes a cruciform ecclesiology, positing the cross as not only foundational to doctrines and sacraments but also as the primary criterion for discerning the ecclesial nature of a community. Through dialogue with Dumitru Staniloae, Hans Urs von Balthasar and Paul Tillich, this book employs a conversationalist approach to this intricate problem. Ultimately, Maican provides a nuanced examination of the cross in ecclesiology, yielding bold propositions for recognizing the ecclesial status of other Christian communities.