Kościół rzymski i pierwszeństwo jego biskupa w eklezjologii ks. Mikołaja Afanasjewa
The Church of Rome and the primacy of its bishop in Fr. Nicholas Afanasiev’s ecclesiology

Summary/Abstract: Fr. Nicholas Afanasiev was one the most significant Orthodox theologians of the 20th century in the field of ecclesiology. He developed and justified the concept of Eucharistic ecclesiology; and, in a certain way, contrasted it with universal ecclesiology. On the basis of both ecclesiologies, he raised the question of primacy in the Church. Based on Eucharistic ecclesiology, he emphasized the equality of the bishops of particular local churches in their office. However, the equality of bishops is not at odds with the fact that certain Churches enjoyed greater authority than others. In the apostolic period, the Church of Jerusalem possessed the most authority; however, starting in the 2nd century, the Church of Rome took its place. Fr. Nicholas Afanasiev believed that the development of universal ecclesiology, mainly thanks to St. Cyprian of Carthage, contributed to fact that the authority of the Church of Rome in the person of its bishop achieved legal status. In this manner, Roman bishops began to acknowledge themselves as leaders of the entire universal Church. Afanasiev emphasizes that the Orthodox Church has always accepted the primacy of the Church and Bishop of Rome on the basis of Eucharistic ecclesiology, however it cannot accept its jurisdictional character of universal primacy on the basis of universal ecclesiology.

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