Perspectief 2016-34

2016-34 35 Learning ecumenically from each other ‘Open sobornicity’ and ‘receptive ecumenism’ Viorel Coman MA The concept of ‘open sobornicity’ developed by the Romanian Orthodox theologian Dumitru Stăniloae (1903-1993) 1 refers to a methodology of ecumenical conversation that advocates Orthodoxy’s need to let itself be enriched and inspired by the spiritual and theological acquisitions of other Christian traditions. The notion of ‘receptive ecumenism’ developed more recently by the Roman Catholic professor Paul Murray (Durham University) also invites Christian traditions to place at the center of the ecumenical agenda the self-critical question ‘What, in any given situation, can one’s own tradition appropriately learn with integrity from other traditions?’ By focusing upon Stăniloae’s concept of ‘open sobornicity’ and Murray’s notion of ‘receptive ecumenism’, this short article has a threefold aim: 1) to offer a short comparison between these two methodologies of ecumenical conversation; 2) to bring a few examples of how a teaching and learning mode of ecumenical interaction has been already implemented and resulted beneficial in the past, especially in the relationships between Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism; 3) to stress the Orthodox Church’s task to give strategic priority also to a learning mode of ecumenical interaction, especially since it faces today an increase in number of those who adopt anti-ecumenical and anti-Western attitudes. The concept of open sobornicity Elaborated at a moment of the high ecumenical enthusiasm of the 1960s and 1970s, the notion of ‘open sobornicity’ was introduced by Stăniloae to offer a solid basis for the 1 For an introduction into Dumitru Stăniloae’s theology, see: Lucian Turcescu (ed . ), Dumitru Stăniloae: Tradition and Modernity in Theology (Iași: The Centre for Romanian Studies, 2002).