Being As Communion - review

Being As Communion by John D. Zizioulas is an Orthodox (in the denominational sense, used in this way throughout the review) treatment uniting the issues of ecclesiology and trinitarian theology. He prefaces the reader,

The Church is not simply an institution. She is a "mode of existence," a way of being. The mystery of the Church, even in its institutional dimension, is deeply bound to the being of man, to the being of the world and to the very being of God. (p 15)

Zizioulas takes his readers on a journey that addresses such issues as what personhood has to do with being, what relationship does truth have with the 'logos', with salvation, with the person, with the body of Christ, and with the Eucharist. He contemplates the difficulty in regarding the Church as the Body of Christ, while there are substantial divisions and differences between not only local congregations, but even on the denominational level. The depth to which Zizioulas goes in his investigation and analysis is impressive, but it often makes his discussion difficult to follow (not to mention his frequent use of Greek and Latin terms).

Being As Communion was not a real helpful or accessible book for me; I got it because sections discussing the Trinitarian nature of God were insightful during seminary. The primary problem (I assume) is that I am not Orthodox and this book seems to be an in-house Orthodox discussion. Zizioulas goes to great length to define some terms and concepts, but leaves others untouched. His implications necessitate an adoption of an Orthodox theology, which is quite different from how I see the nature of God, Church, Christ, ministry, etc. While challenging (and in that sense 'fun' at times), ultimately Zizioulas offers the uninitiated (or maybe the lazy) only pieces, not a nice whole.