God as Communion

God as Communion explores ancient and new meanings of the symbol of God as Trinity and brings the Christian traditions of West and East into dialogue. Through an exploration of the works of two contemporary theologians, John Zizioulas and Elizabeth Johnson, Patricia Fox retrieves this central Christian symbol and uncovers its transforming power for the Church and world today.

God as Communion shows how both Zizioulas and Johnson, from their very different theological traditions and starting points, provide a rich understanding of the symbol of the Triune God. Fox proposes we reclaim that doctrine of the Trinity as an eminently practical doctrine that challenges Christians and the Christian Churches to transforming changes in this new century.

Part one examines the trinitarian theology of John Zizioulas, which focuses on the formative and seminal period of the first centuries of Christianity. Part two examines Elizabeth Johnson's exploration of the mystery of the triune God in feminist theological discourse. Part three brings the trinitarian theologies of John Zizioulas and Elizabeth Johnson into a mutually critical correlation. Fox concludes that the respective theologies of Zizioulas and Johnson together provide a rich resource for the retrieval of this ancient Christian symbol.

Chapters under Part One: The Trinitarian Theology of John Zizioulas are "The Trinitarian God—Persons in Communion," "God and Creation," and "The Church as Communion." Chapters under Part Two: The Trinitarian Theology of Elizabeth Johnson are "Renaming the Trinitarian God," "SHE WHO IS: The Being of God and Suffering," and "Reclaiming the Creator Spirit, Women and Earth." Chapters under Part Three: Towards a Retrieval of the Symbol of the Triune God are "Zizioulas, Johnson and the Retrieval of the Trinity," "Pneumatology and Christology in Mutual Relation," "Foundations for Trinitarian Theology: Persons, Naming, Structure," "Trinitarian Theology in Practice: The Issues of Suffering and the Ecological Crisis," and "Towards a Constructive Retrieval of the Symbol of the Triune God."

Patricia A. Fox, RSM, PhD, teaches Christian spirituality at the Adelaide College of Divinity at the theology school of Flinders University of South Australia and coordinates the Spirituality Office for the Catholic Archdiocese of Adelaide.