“Dominicanes in synodi coetu de synodalitate”
‘I participated in the Synod as a ‘theological expert’. Our role was to prepare the documents for the synod sessions, to attend the discussions in the plenary assembly, to prepare summaries for the drafting of the final document, or to write up fact sheets on specific points that were requested of us. The group consisted of twenty-six theologians divided into language groups. As an officer of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, my role was also to liaise with the ‘fraternal delegates’ from the other Christian traditions participating in the Synod. It was a unique experience of contact with the universal Church in all its cultural diversity, which today is becoming less and less Western. It has also been an historic moment for the Catholic Church, which has undertaken an unprecedented process of consultation with the whole People of God’, stresses Brother Hyacinthe Destivelle, OP, officer of the Dicastery for the Promotion of Christian Unity and director of the Institute of Ecumenical Studies “Œcumenicum” of the Angelicum, shares his thoughts on the Synod in the following interview granted to the media of Ordo Praedicatorum.
As an “expert” participating in the Synod, what issues do you consider urgent and necessary today?
As an ecumenist, a key issue for me is the link between synodality and Christian unity. From the very beginning of the synodal process, the ecumenical dimension has been very important, as demonstrated by the ecumenical prayer vigil “Together”, organised in St. Peter’s Square on 30 September 2023. Synodality and ecumenism are two interdependent and mutually constitutive processes of a “common journey” (syn/odos). There is no synodality without ecumenism, and no ecumenism without synodality. On the one hand, a Catholic Church that is more synodal in its internal life, ad intra, is more credible to other Christians. On the other hand, a certain synodality with other Christians is possible, even if we are not yet in full communion. We experience this synodality ad extra when representatives of our churches pray together, discern together, work together and participate in each other’s synodal processes at all levels. Finally, Catholics can also learn from the synodal experience of other Christians. This is what we have explored in the symposia “Listening to the East” and “Listening to the West”, organised by the Institute for Ecumenical Studies at the Angelicum in 2022 and 2023.
In your opinion, what is the relationship between the theme of synodality and the charism of the Order?
Our Order has a unique experience of synodality, first of all through its institutions and its processes of governance, which illustrate the communal, collegial and personal dimensions of synodality: the famous principle of “all, some, one”. But even more important is the “synodal culture” of the Order: a culture of listening, dialogue and communal discernment. In making decisions and putting them into practice, there is a “collective intelligence” which is characteristic of our Order. These institutions and this culture can certainly be a source of inspiration for a better synodality of the whole Church. The presence of the Dominicans at this Synod on Synodality is a good opportunity to bear witness to this. It is not by chance that Brother Timothy Radcliffe has been invited to preach.
How can a Dominican contribute to building peace in the world?
Peace is always fragile. It is a harmony rather than a balance. As a Dominican, the search for truth is certainly a specific contribution to peace. As I am particularly committed to Christian unity, I believe that any contribution to the realisation of Christ’s prayer “that they may be one” (Jn 17:21) is also a contribution to peace in the world. The ecumenical movement was born as a response to the first two world wars. It is significant that some of the pioneers of ecumenism were Dominicans, such as Fathers Dumont, Congar and Tillard, because the search for unity is at the very basis of our fraternal life. But I also like the advice of St. Seraphim of Sarov: “Acquire a spirit of peace and thousands will find salvation around you”. It is first and foremost through our inner peace that we contribute to peace in the world.
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Brother Hyacinthe Destivelle, OP, is a Dominican friar of the Province of Toulouse (France). Br Hyacinthe has served as the director of the Centre for Ecumenical Studies and of the review Istina in Paris (2005-2010). Subsequently, he was parish priest of St Catherine’s in St Petersburg, Russia (2010-2013). Since 2013 he has been an official of the Vatican Dicastery for the Promotion of Christian Unity, where he has been responsible for relations with the Slavic Orthodox Churches (2013-2018) and then with the Oriental Orthodox Churches (since 2018). Since 2019, he has also been director of the Institute for Ecumenical Studies “Œcumenicum” at the Angelicum.
