Discernment and Responsibility of Laity in the Eastern and Western Churches: Reality and Inspiration

Przemysław Sawa; Andrzej Migda

doi:10.31261/EaL.2025.13.2.02

Published: 2025-12-31

2026

Discernment and Responsibility of Laity in the Eastern and Western Churches: Reality and Inspiration

Przemysław Sawa

, Andrzej Migda

Section: Artykuły

https://doi.org/10.31261/EaL.2025.13.2.02

Abstract

The article presents the theological basis for lay participation in discernment and responsibility for the Church. A proper understanding of baptism, the universal priesthood of believers and the sensus fidei are the source of all activity in the community and the realization of its mission. The authors also present a wide range of solutions for the structural involvement of believers in the Catholic, Orthodox, Oriental, Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, Reformed, Methodist, and Evangelical (including Baptist or Pentecostal) Churches. The very display of different perspectives and configurations leads to reflection on the prospect of mutual inspiration (keeping one’s identity intact) and the challenges posed by the chosen solutions.

Keywords:

laity , clergy , Catholicism , Estearn Churches , Old Catholicism , Prostenatism , Evangelicalism , synodality , governance in the church , discernment

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2026
Published: 2023-03-02

ISSN: 2353-4877

eISSN: 2391-4327

10.31261/EaL

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Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Śląskiego | University of Silesia Press

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Discernment and Responsibility of Laity in the Eastern and Western Churches: Reality and Inspiration

Abstract

Keywords:

Przemysław Sawa

Andrzej Migda

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