unity

On the Orthodox Christian Network, Fr. Mark Arey, the General Secretary of the Standing Conference of the Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas (SCOBA), discusses the Fourth Pre-Conciliar Pan-Orthodox Conference that met in Chambésy, Switzerland, in June, in an interview with Fr. Chris Metropulos.

“If we’re serious, really serious about Orthodox unity, well my friends, we have to do the hard work and put it together,” says Fr. Arey. “You can’t just snap your fingers and everybody says each bishop can have his own title and then we’re done.”

Fr. Arey talks about SCOBA’s future, in light of the move toward a new episcopal assembly, and how that would affect current governance of American Orthodoxy.

“It’s easy to talk about Orthodox unity when you don’t have to actually do it,” Fr. Arey says.

Listen:

From the Chambesy announcement on the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese Web site:

Acting as formal representatives of the Autocephalous Churches, the members of the Fourth Pre-Conciliar Conference in Chambésy affirmed “that is the common will of all of the most holy Orthodox Churches that the problem of the Orthodox Diaspora be resolved as quickly as possible, and that it be organized in accordance with Orthodox ecclesiology, and the canonical tradition and practice of the Orthodox Church.” The Conference decided to establish an “Episcopal Assembly” in specific regions which are beyond the boundaries of the Autocephalous Churches. The Conference initially identified twelve regions throughout the world. The Episcopal Assembly will include all the canonical Orthodox bishops in a given region such as North America. The representative of the Ecumenical Patriarch (in this case, Archbishop Demetrios of America) will chair the Episcopal Assembly in each region. The Assembly will meet yearly and will have an Executive Committee which will meet every three months. Other committees, composed of clergy and laity, will be established to address particular concerns.

Quote from the story:

Bartholomeos warned that the failure of churches in Europe to match their statements about unity with specific actions calls into question their credibility.

The Charta Oecumenica (cited below) makes a case for Christian unity. Did its authors have the American Orthodox in mind, as well? Probably not. Sample:

Various forms of ecumenical co-operation have already proved themselves. Christ’s prayer is: “…that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me” (John 17:21). If we are to be faithful to this prayer, we cannot be content with the present situation. Instead, aware of our guilt and ready to repent, we must strive to overcome the divisions still existing among us, so that together we may credibly proclaim the message of the Gospel among all people.

Article follows:

Lyon, France (Ecumenical News International) — Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomeos I, a spiritual leader who represents Eastern Orthodox Christianity, has called for the creation of a churches’ umbrella body in Europe to include Roman Catholics alongside Anglicans, Orthodox and Protestants.

“It is only by engaging in dialogue and by closely cooperating that the churches will prove capable of proclaiming the Gospel of Christ to the world in a convincing and effective way,” the Orthodox leader said in a 19 July address in Lyon, France to mark the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Conference of European Churches.

CEC now has about 120 member churches, principally Anglican, Orthodox and Protestant, but Bartholomeos said that Europe needs a grouping that includes the Catholic Church.

This would help to promote unity between churches and enable them to act jointly on issues in Europe such as secularisation, human rights violations, racism, the economic crisis, and threats to the environment. Continue reading →

In 1942, Russian emigre and lay theologian Nicholas Zernov published a little book on the Orthodox Church under the auspices of the Fellowship of St. Alban and St. Sergius. Much of Zernov’s “The Church of the Eastern Christians” is aimed — no surprise — at educating the British public about the Orthodox Church and advancing the cause of unity between Anglicans and Eastern Orthodox. He also has some things to say about how the Church governs itself that we would do well to reflect upon today.

“The Eastern Church rejects altogether the attempts of the West to locate Church authority in one or another ecclesiastical institution,” Zernov wrote. “It is the Holy Spirit speaking and acting through the whole body of believers who is the teacher and guardian of truth for them.”

In his introduction, written against the backdrop of WWII, he identified two major problems facing Christians: the lack of unity and the rise of totalitarianism, first in Russia following the revolution and then Nazi fascism.

The various divisions among Christians “constitutes a serious obstacle to the victory of faith,” Zernov wrote. He observed that most Christians don’t even know precisely what it is that makes cooperation among themselves impossible so therefore they cannot see the steps that should be taken to remove the barriers to unity. Any movement towards unity must necessarily involve the active participation of the laity.

On the subject of totalitarianism, Zernov said that the Russian Revolution must be considered as “a turning point” in the history of Christianity. That’s because the revolution marked the first time that the Church had its authority challenged — indeed was marked for extinction — in a major European country. While this turn of events for the Russian Church was greeted with condescension and indifference by many in the West, it soon became apparent that the Western churches would meet the same fate under Hitler. “Totalitarianism is prepared to make a temporary truce with some decadent forms of Christianity, but is uncompromisingly opposed to any robust faith and to those who allegiance to the Church is firm and explicit,” he warned.

The following excerpts from Zernov’s “The Church of the Eastern Christians” look at how authority is organized and exercised in the Church:

The Popular Character of Eastern Orthodoxy

The constitution of the Eastern Church is based on the principle of self-government, in which both clergy and laity share. Parochial councils, diocesan conferences and national synods must include representatives of all members. But this constitution is not always adhered to in practice. When it breaks down, it is usually as the result of State intervention. The popular character of Eastern Orthodoxy is the source of its strength; for this reason, whenever the secular authorities have wished to check the influence of Christianity, they have tried to narrow the Church’s constitution and deprive the laity of any part in its administration. Russia, before the Revolution of 1917, was a conspicuous example of this policy. Continue reading →

Pope Benedict XVI paid a visit today to the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, Theophilus III. The pope, according to the Catholic News Agency, “spoke with the patriarch of his gratitude for efforts to achieve greater unity between their Churches and asked the Christians of Jerusalem to raise a generation dedicated to the faith.”

Pope Benedict began his speech to those assembled by calling to mind the past meetings between his two predecessors and the Orthodox patriarchs of their time.

“These encounters, including my visit today,” he said, “are of great symbolic significance. They recall that the light of the East has illumined the entire world from the very moment when a ‘rising sun’ came to visit us and they remind us too that from here the Gospel was preached to all nations.”

Here is the full text of the speech from Vatican Radio:

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

It is with profound gratitude and joy that I make this visit to the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem; a moment to which I have much looked forward. I thank His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilus III for his kind words of fraternal greeting, which I warmly reciprocate. I also express to all of you my heartfelt gratitude for providing me with this opportunity to meet once again the many leaders of Churches and ecclesial communities present.

This morning I am mindful of the historic meetings that have taken place here in Jerusalem between my predecessor Pope Paul VI and the Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras I, and also between Pope John Paul II and His Beatitude Patriarch Diodoros. These encounters, including my visit today, are of great symbolic significance. They recall that the light of the East (cf. Is 60:1; Rev 21:10) has illumined the entire world from the very moment when a “rising sun” came to visit us (Lk 1:78) and they remind us too that from here the Gospel was preached to all nations. Continue reading →