Panel: SCRIPTURE AND THEOLOGY 2026



468_2.1 - SCRIPTURAL HERMENEUTICS IN THE ORTHODOX-CATHOLIC DIALOGUE ON PRIMACY AND SYNODALITY

AUTHORS:
Keramidas D. (Pontifical University St Thomas Aquinas "Angelicum" in Rome ~ Rome ~ Italy)
Text:
This paper aims to analyse how the International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches has used Scripture to discuss primacy/authority and synodality/conciliarity. Specifically, I will examine the documents of Ravenna (2007), Chieti (2016), and Alexandria (2023) to evaluate how the Orthodox have received the biblical interpretations of these two forms of church governance (e.g., Mat 16:18, Jn 21, Acts 15, etc.), as a balance of role of the "first" with the "many" (synod) or to establish biblical prototypes for contemporary Orthodox-Catholic reconciliation. Additionally, I will attempt to critically identify the Orthodox scepticism regarding the biblical basis of Peter's "primacy".