During the Sixth General Assembly of the Ecclesial Conference of the Amazon (CEAMA), B Bishop Zenildo LimaB , auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Manaus and vice president of CEAMA, shared a reflection on the value of synodality in the life of the Church and its particular expression in the Amazon region.
During his address, the bishop explained that synodality is an experience that manifests the universality of the Church. However, he noted that the Church is always rooted in a specific place and a concrete reality. For this reason, the theology of the local Church is deeply linked to the synodal experience, since it is in these territories where the Church lives, discerns, and walks alongside the people.
In this regard, Bishop Zenildo noted that the Church in the Amazon has historically been built through missionary processes marked by synodality. Although this path has been fraught with contradictions and challenges, it has also allowed for the development of a deeply participatory ecclesial experience that is close to the communities.
For the bishop, there is a great opportunity today:that the synodal experience lived in the Amazon may become a sign and an inspiration for the synodality of the universal Church. He also recalled that at the National Missionary Congress of the Church in Brazil, there has been reflection on how the local Church can open itself to the frontiers of the world, sharing its learnings and its pastoral journey.
In this perspective, he highlighted CEAMA’s proposal to safeguard and strengthen synodal experiences in the Amazon, as a way to consolidate this process and offer it as a reference for other ecclesial realities.
Finally, Bishop Zenildo emphasized that building a Church with an Amazonian face—one that springs from its identity, its culture, and its relationship with the territory—enables a profound ecclesial communion. A communion that, though born in a local context, remains fully united to the Church present throughout the world.