150 PART TWO: AN EMPIRICAL ACCOUNT in choosing these particular communities, they now fully embrace and advocate their ecumenical mission. There is no indication that sharing the Eucharist has reduced their ecumenical efforts, as is one of the main concerns of those opposing Eucharistic hospitality. On the contrary, life in Taizé and Bose has deepened and enriched the desire for and commitment to Christian unity. This conclusion will be further substantiated by the results presented in the following chapters. The communities build on the essential theological and liturgical convergence achieved by the early ecumenical movement, the liturgical movement, and, at least in Taizé, by Brother Max Thurian and his fellow theologians of the Groupe de Dombes. Basic insights were expressed in the rule of Taizé by Brother Roger such that, despite years of expanding ecumenical variety within the community, there has been no need to rephrase it. It is clear that for the monastics, these basic theological foundations suffice for living out Christian unity. Therefore, in Taizé as well as in Bose, there is no inclination to further discuss theological differences. This may come across as intellectual negligence or even relativism. However, in my understanding, this instead indicates that in the theological imagination of the monastics the lived reality precedes, and has priority over, intellectual theological frameworks. In other words, theological reflection is a derivative of lived reality rather than the other way around. Theologically and philosophically, the monastics thus find themselves in the tradition of Aristotle rather than Plato. Their point of departure echoes Pope Francis’ remark mentioned in section 1.4: “Life is greater than explanations and interpretations.”369 In today’s context, in which the reception of classical consensus theology seems insufficient to restore Christian unity, the monastics offer an alternative route to theological theory-building. Their praxis-theology offers new insights into the question of the place and function of the Eucharist in the search for unity. As such, the monastics experience the Christian unity as it is lived out concretely in their communities as significant and valuable for the ecumenical process. They embody and materialize the notion of the exchange of gifts in a very concrete way. In their common lives, this practice eliminates the sense of competition between Christian traditions. The communities differ in how they organize this element. Both offer space, be it individually or communally, to integrate the spiritual resources of each tradition. Indeed, the monastics feel enriched by this. But, especially in Bose, they also choose to abstain from 369 Francis, “Visit to the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Rome.”
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