This is especially true of the sacraments, ministry (the "character problem"), etc.

554

For example, the school of R. Bultmann has a clear tendency in this direction. The present problem of reconciling the "charismatic" and "institutional" aspects of the Church illustrates this further.

555

It can be seen that this is the East of Origen's time. His emphasis on the eschatological meaning of the Gospel at the expense of the historical is well known. See, for example, "V John 1:24; 6.6, etc. Compare G. Florovsky's Origen, Eusebius and the Iconoclastic Disputes, History of the Church, 19, 1950, 77–96. Origen's view of apostolic succession was profoundly influenced by this approach: apostolic succession is basically a continuation of Christ's teaching (On the Elements, 4, 9; V Luke 34 ff.), succession in the Spirit ("Exhortation." 28.9, comp. Comments. on Romans 7:5) rather than succession through historical institutions. The tendency to emphasize the "charismatic" at the expense of the "institutional" continuation of the Church has re-emerged in Orthodoxy through various piitical movements and tendencies in modern times.

556

This must be acknowledged despite any historical reasons that may be offered as an explanation.

557

It is worth noting that it is the function of the Holy Spirit that reveals being in such a way that it can become the being of relationships. Without pneumatology, ontology becomes substantialistic and individualistic. The Spirit was understood as "communion" by both the Greek (e.g., St. Basil) and the Latin (e.g., St. Augustine) Fathers, especially the latter. But the importance of pneumatology for ontology has never been decisive in Western thought.