LaCugna takes the Cappadocian‑inspired notion of perichoresis (mutual indwelling) and uses it to locate God’s unity in a communion of persons, then extends that “divine dance” outward to include redeemed humanity in one economy of communion.[1][2][3]
## Perichoresis and divine unity
– She notes that as the older emphasis on the Father’s “monarchy” weakened, “the idea of **perichoresis replaced it**”: unity is no longer grounded in an origin‑monarch but in the mutual indwelling of the three.[2][1]
– “Perichoresis avoids locating the divine unity either in the divine essence or in the person of the Father; **it locates unity in a communion of persons**.”[1][2]
## Persons-in-communion, not essence behind persons
– For LaCugna, perichoresis expresses that “a divine person is by nature in relation to the other persons,” so relation is constitutive, not accidental.[2][1]
– She takes this as support for her broader thesis: God’s being is persons‑in‑communion, and we can no longer think the divine essence “in itself or by itself” apart from these relations.[4][2]
## Extending perichoresis to economy and humanity
– Crucially, she refuses to confine perichoresis to a hidden “inner” life of God:
“The starting point in the economy of redemption locates perichoresis **not in God’s inner life, but in the mystery of the communion of both divine and human persons. One perichoresis includes God and humanity.**”[2]
– She thus speaks of the triune communion “overflowing to include humanity as its beloved partner,” so that believers, by grace, are drawn into the same pattern of mutuality, equality, and reciprocity that constitutes God’s own life.[3]
## Ethical and ecclesial implications
– Because perichoresis depicts an **inseparable, mutually indwelling communion**, LaCugna uses it as an icon for egalitarian, non‑dominating human community: feminist claims that a “human community of equals is an icon of God’s relational life” are, she says, properly grounded in this perichoretic vision.[3][1][2]
– The church, in her view, should mirror this perichoretic life in structures and practices of shared rule, mutual indwelling (hospitality, solidarity), and inclusion, rather than hierarchy patterned on a monarchical model of God.[4][1][3]
Sources
[1] Christological Perichoresis – Scientific Research Publishing https://www.scirp.org/journal/
[2] [PDF] Christological Perichoresis – Scirp.org. https://www.scirp.org/pdf/
[3] [PDF] HOW CAN TRINITARIAN THEOLOGY TAKE US TOWARDS A … https://mowatch.com.au/wp-
[4] [PDF] The Trinitarian Theology of Catherine Mowry LaCugna | Word & World https://wordandworld.
[5] Ressourcing the Fathers? A Critical Analysis of Catherine Mowry … https://onlinelibrary.wiley.
[6] [PDF] Navigating the Trinity’s Practical Symphony with LaCugna and … https://digitalcommons.csbsju.
[7] The Mystery of the Trinity – CAC.org https://cac.org/daily-
[8] The concept of perichoresis – The Surprising God https://thesurprisinggodblog.
[9] a God who could dance – Chapel Hill Mennonite Fellowship https://chapelhillmennonite.
[10] Ressourcing the Fathers? A Critical Analysis of Catherine Mowry … https://www.academia.edu/
[11] God for Us: The Trinity and Christian Life. Author’s Response https://www.cambridge.org/
[12] Perichoresis and the Early Christian Doctrine of God – Academia.edu https://www.academia.edu/
[13] Trinity – Simply: These three are one – SciELO South Africa http://www.scielo.org.za/
[14] Catherine LaCugna | The religious imagineer https://jimfriedrich.com/tag/
[15] The Meaning of Perichoresis | Semantic Scholar https://www.semanticscholar.
[16] Remembering the theologian Catherine Mowry LaCugna. Her book … https://www.facebook.com/
