Fr. Dumitru Stăniloae’s View on Laymen’s Participation in the Infallibility of the Church

Though Fr. Dumitru Stăniloae did not address the topic extensively, a certain view on laymen’s participation in the Infallibility of the Church could be extracted from his writings. While professing the traditional teaching of the Orthodox Church, i.e., insisting on the role of hierarchy in preserving and formulating the faith, Stăniloae alluded to a specific charismatic role of laity in preserving and strengthening the faith. The dialogue with the ecclesiology of I. Karmiris also led Stăniloae to the formulation of a personal theory concerning the limits of Church infallibility. The collaboration between clergy and laymen, as witnessed by the Liturgy, appears to be a suitable description of the manner in which Church infallibility functions.