Easter Communion: The Local Church and the Universal Church

Abstract

The dispute in the early church about the appropriate time to end the Easter fast is of particular interest because in it we see bishops of Rome defending the Apostolic Tradition against bishops of some other churches. The analysis of the Easter Dispute suggests that the theme of mutual interiority, in which the Roman primacy is said to be within each particular church, would be better expressed as mutual hospitality. This phrase more accurately accounts for history, and serves as a powerful corrective to the belief that particular churches relate to the Roman church as local branches of a company to their head office.