Giorgio Agamben’s Stasis (Civil War): An Illuminating Paradigm for Ecumenical Studies?

Abstract

AbstractThis chapter employs the writings of Giorgio Agamben on stasis (the ancient Greek word for “civil war”) to show how his analysis might shed light on ecumenical discourses, particularly as it applies to relationships between Eastern Catholic Churches and Eastern Orthodox Churches. The chapter juxtaposes the work of Agamben with the 1993 “Balamand Statement,” “Uniatism, Method of Union of the Past, and the Present Search for Full Communion” issued by the seventh plenary session of the Joint International Commission for the Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church. The chapter employs the paradigm of stasis heuristically, focusing on Agamben’s analysis of the Athenian Civil War of 403 B.C. and conflicts between ancient Greek city states, and the mode of their resolution, applying it to contemporary Orthodox–Eastern Catholic conflicts and engagements.