Saint Dumitru Stăniloae’s The Experience of God: Volume 4 - The Church: Communion in the Holy Spirit [FREE PDF]
As we see in this volume and others that constitute his Dogmatic Theology, Fr. Staniloae is both steeped in the ancient tradition and conversant with his contemporaries…The result in the present volume is a theological work focusing on the Church that draws on the voices of his tradition, studies the reflections of his contemporaries, and constructs a "traditional” synthesis that is unique and fresh. Fr. Staniloae’s work is characterized by that dual fidelity - to the past and to the present - that is the requirement of any theologian of any era. But it is infused by a sense of inspiration that is difficult to find in any modern theological writing. Fr. Staniloae’s readers are encountering a voice that is thoroughly reliable in that it is so learned and faithful. But it is a deeply person voice - creative and stunningly, disarmingly free.
Chapter one: The Descent of the Holy Spirit and the Beginning of the Church
Chapter two: The Theandric Constitution of the Church
The Church as the Mystical Body of Christ and Christ as Her Head
The Foundation of the Church: God’s Incarnate Son
The Church Imprinted with Christ’s Sacrifice
The Church Pneumatized by the Spirit of the Risen Christ
Chapter three: Christ’s Threefold Ministry and the Priesthood of the Church
Christ’s Priesthood in the Church
Christ’s Priesthood in the Church through the Universal Priesthood
Christ’s Priesthood in the Church through the Serving Priesthood
The Three Stages of Priesthood
The Succession of Grace: Christ’s Priestly Work Continued through Other Ministries
The Serving Priesthood’s Role in Maintaining the Unity of the Church
A Detailed Explanation of the Bishop’s and Priest’s relationship with Christ
The Synodality of the Bishops and How the Church’s Sobornicity Depends upon It
The Serving Priesthood and the Visible Character of the Church
Chapter four: Attributes of the Church as the Body of Christ
The Holiness of the Church
The Integral Sobornicity of the Church
The Apostolicity of the Church
Chapter five: The Working of the Holy Spirit: Divine Grace and Human Freedom
The Working of the Holy Spirit, or Divine Grace
The Human Person’s Free Cooperation with Grace
Gifts as Workings of the Spirit
Chapter six: The Human Person’s Salvation within the Body of Christ
Righteousness, Justification, Growth, and Ascent in the Spirit
The Human Person’s Rebirth and the Indwelling of Christ
The Gift of Salvation Appropriated through Faith and Good Works
You can find all of the books in the series for free here
