Towards a Pneumatological-Ecclesiology: Outside the “Two Lungs of the Church”

This paper critiques the framing of the pneumatological underpinning of ecclesiology as an Orthodox-Catholic conversation. The context for the Joint Commission for Orthodox-Catholic dialogue warrants the use of the metaphor “two lungs of the church” by official church leaders, ecclesiologists and theologians to speak of the Spirit’s work in and between both communions. However, I want to call attention to the pneumatological and ecclesiological problems in the use of the image “two lungs of the church.” If the Holy Spirit breathes upon and through the Body of Christ, reading the Spirit’s operation in the church (pneumatological-ecclesiology) cannot ignore, and much less dismiss or absorb (either explicitly or implicitly), the charismas outside of the Roman Catholic Church and Orthodoxy. Protestant denominations, such as Baptists, Brethren, Evangelicals, Presbyterians, Pentecostals and Charismatics are also contexts for studying the Spirit’s work in the churches. The paper concludes by proffering a mapping of recent pneumatological contributions of other Christian denominations and churches to invite theologians to assist in reframing or reconceptualizing a more appropriate anatomic metaphor for the Spirit’s work in and among the churches together.