Sobornost and Einheit: Johann Adam Möhler and Alexei Khomiakov’s Organismic Ecclesiologies

The nineteenth century witnessed a renewed turn toward ecclesiology in both Roman Catholic and Orthodox theology. In this shift, the Church was understood not as one aspect of Christian life but as the primary locus of Christian existence and theological tradition. This paper places Alexei Khomiakov and Johann Adam Möhler in dialogue. I highlight their shared conviction that the Church is an organism of living unity rather than a rational mechanism. Through Khomiakov’s sobornost and Möhler’s Einheit, both theologians ground ecclesiology christologically and present the Church as the living union of Christ’s Body. I examine their account of the relationship between the Church’s historical visibility and its participation in the Mystical Body, noting their distinction—without separation—between visible and invisible expressions. I argue that their parallel visions anticipate ressourcement ecclesiology, while also exhibiting romantic and universalizing tendencies that shape their legacy in later thinkers such as Florovsky and de Lubac.