Abstract
An anti-hierarchical ethos has been assumed in John’s Gospel by much modern biblical scholarship. The Johannine community functions, especially for non-episcopal communions, as an emblem of “flat” ecclesiology in the early Church, defying the Synoptic emphasis on apostolic ministry. However, recent scholarship destabilizes this consensus, drawing on figures associated with John in early tradition to present alternative Johannine ecclesiologies. Andrew Byers, for instance, seeks to harmonize Ignatius of Antioch’s high theology of the episcopacy with the theology of John’s Gospel. Building on Byers’ work, this essay argues that the Johannine tradition is not only compatible with Ignatius, but even supplies central elements of his ecclesiology, where the bishop embodies liturgically the Church’s participation in the kenosis so prominent in John.
Recommended Citation
Koshy, Jayan. 2022. Eucharist, Kenosis & Ignatius of Antioch's Johannine Ecclesiology. Obsculta 15, (1) : 28-45. https://digitalcommons.csbsju.edu/obsculta/vol15/iss1/5.