Promising yet Unintentional. The Bold Pneumatology of Lumen Gentium, nos. 4 and 12

Description

Famously, the Orthodox theologian Nikos Nissiotis criticized Vatican II's ecclesiology for its institution-focused rather than pneumatological approach. In this paper I will discuss two articles to which that critique does not apply, namely the reflection on the trinity and the Spirit in Lumen gentium 4 and the reflection on the people of God and its charisms in Lumen gentium 12. Both conceive the Spirit as playing a foundational, active role in the Church, so that their ecclesiology seems close to what Nissiotis pleaded for. After highlighting the 'bold pneumatology' of these texts, I will argue that this remarkable pneumatology may be promising for overcoming Geistvergessenheit and ecumenically, but that it has never been fundamentally discussed; these discussions were deliberately avoided by Gerard Philips, the main editor of the text. Is the bold pneumatology in LG 4 and 12 therefore best qualified as promising yet unintentional?

Period	Mar 2018
Event title	European Academy of Religion 2018
Event type	Conference
Location	Bologna, ItalyShow on map
Degree of Recognition	International