La Cugna’s relational ontology reshapes theological anthropology by defining human beings as **persons-in-communion**, whose very being is to exist toward God, others, and creation in self‑giving love.[1][2][3]
## Person as being-toward-another
– She argues that if God’s very reality is communion (triune persons in relation), then humans, as imago Dei, are “radically relational, created to live as persons in communion.”[1]
– Against modern individualism, she writes: “By definition a person is ecstatic, toward‑another; we are persons by virtue of relationship to another,” so we are most free when living in right relationship with God and all creation.[1]
## Image of God and destiny to share divine life
– Because human beings are created “in the image of God” and “destined to share the divine life,” imaging God means participating in God’s communal life, not mirroring an abstract divine substance.[3][1]
– The heart of Christian faith is “the encounter with the God of Jesus Christ who makes possible both our union with God and communion with each other,” so anthropology is framed by this double vocation.[3]
## Mutuality, equality, and non-domination
– A genuine communion of persons requires “mutuality and equality while respecting uniqueness and diversity”; persons, divine and human, “should never be considered subordinate to another.”[1]
– She explicitly rejects using the Trinity to justify social or sexual hierarchies and instead takes the triune life as a model of “shared rule of equal persons in communion” that calls human communities to non‑dominating, reciprocal relationships.[4][1]
## Sexuality as icon of relational personhood
– LaCugna integrates sexuality into theological anthropology: sexual life is “the most conspicuous way that human persons express themselves as persons who naturally seek communion.”[1]
– She defines sexuality broadly as “the capacity for relationship, for ecstasis, and for self‑transcendence,” calling it “an icon of who God is,” since it signals that we are created for relational self‑gift in the image of the triune God.[1]
## Anthropological implications of persons-in-communion
– To be human is to be called into ever‑widening circles of communion—with God, other humans, and all creatures—so ethical life is about becoming a more faithful “icon of the Trinity” in our common life.[5][1]
– The best expression of trinitarian orthodoxy, she concludes, is not conceptual accuracy but “faithful living of the life of communion,” so theological anthropology is essentially about learning to live God’s life with and for others.[3][1]
Sources
[1] [PDF] The Trinitarian Theology of Catherine Mowry LaCugna | Word & World https://wordandworld.
[2] [PDF] The Relational Ontology of Augustine’s and LaCugna’s Trinity https://digitalcommons.csbsju.
[3] God for Us – Uniting Church Australia https://uniting.church/god-
[4] — Maryknoll Affiliates https://www.
[5] [PDF] ON THE TRIUNE GOD AND THE CHRISTIAN MORAL LIFE https://scriptura.journals.ac.
[6] Catherine Mowry Lacugna’s Contribution to Trinitarian Theology https://journals.sagepub.com/
[7] [PDF] A Study of the Trinitarian Theology of Catherine Mowry LaCugna … https://repository.divinity.
[8] In Defense of LaCugna – Theopolis Institute https://theopolisinstitute.
[9] [PDF] Navigating the Trinity’s Practical Symphony with LaCugna and … https://digitalcommons.csbsju.
[10] [PDF] CATHERINE MOWRY LaCUGNA’S CONTRIBUTION TO … https://theologicalstudies.
[11] [PDF] the trinity as model: tanner and lacugna https://repository.divinity.
[12] [PDF] The Practical Trinity – WordPress.com https://livinglocalnw.files.
[13] Trinity, Patriarchy, and White Supremacy: Theological perspectives … https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/
[14] [PDF] Understanding “Relationality” From A Trinitarian Perspective https://www.enochwan.com/
[15] persons in communion, human and divine – Academia.edu https://www.academia.edu/
[16] God the Trinity, as three persons united through love into … – Reddit https://www.reddit.com/r/
