The Orthodox Church and the Ecumenical Movement
The following article first appeared in the November 1996 edition of
"Diocesan News For Clergy and Laity" (Volume 4, Number
11), printed and distributed by the Greek Orthodox Diocese of
Denver.
Much has been said, and much written, concerning the Orthodox
Church and its involvement with what is broadly referred to as
the "Ecumenical Movement." It seems that no other issue
causes as much consternation within the Orthodox Church as
"Ecumenism," and indeed it has resulted in serious
divisions and even schisms within the One, Holy, Catholic, and
Apostolic Church founded by our Lord.
In general, we might say that the Ecumenical Movement is an
effort to bring Christian Churches back into the union that
existed at least prior to the Council of Chalcedon. A noble
endeavor, to be sure. But the means for such union remain highly
disputed.
For the faithful Orthodox there is only one answer in this
regard: union of the Christian Churches must be a union in the
traditional apostolic faith. In other words, the separated
Churches must return to Orthodoxy. The Delegates of the Orthodox
Church to the North American Faith and Order Study Conference, in
Oberlin, Ohio in 1957 expressed the
matter most succinctly when they were asked to comment on the
topic of Christian "Unity:" "(this Unity) is for
us a given unity which has never been lost, and, as a Divine gift
and an essential mark of Christian existence, could not have been
lost. This unity in the Church of Christ is for us a unity in the
Historical Church, in the fullness of faith, in the fullness of a
continuous sacramental life. For us, this unity is embodied in
the Orthodox Church, which kept, catholikos and anelleipos,
both the integrity of the Apostolic Faith and the integrity of
the Apostolic Order." Genuine "Orthodox Ecumenism"
can therefore only be a witness to the Christian world of the
faith once delivered to the Apostles that has never changed, and
which they are called to accept as the only authentic Christian
expression.
On the other hand, for most of the Christian denominations
participating in the Ecumenical Movement the means for union is
something very different, and completely unacceptable to the
Orthodox. The Ecumenical Movement has its roots in the
frustration of European Christians who were fed up with their
history of nationalistic goals and wars which were all too often
fought in the name of God. Their answer was to establish in the
secular arena an atmosphere of mutual tolerance and respect for
men of differing faiths. To support this within the religious
sphere they sought to establish a methodology for minimizing
those doctrinal and dogmatic differences that turned brother
against brother and cousin against cousin in bloody European
wars.
The philosophical underpinning to their methodology was to
postulate what is know as the "branch theory" of
Christian denominations. This theory proposes that all of the
Christian churches evolved from the same basic root, or trunk,
and thus are essentially all one. Being all of one common source,
the various churches can coexist and flourish side by side in
mutual respect. The resultant Ecumenical Movement is
predominantly a Protestant fabrication, since neither the Roman
Catholic nor the Orthodox Churches could ever have recognized
their breakaway ecclesiological entities as having remained
faithful to the original dogmas and teachings. Instead of
regarding them as branches that sprouted from the authentic
trunk, they see them as branches which were broken off from the
True Vine. United only in their "protest" against the
hierarchical ecclesiology and dogmatic theology of the Roman
Catholic Church (which herself is heretical and schismatic from
the Orthodox church), the Protestant denominations must
necessarily accept as common ground the fact that they differ in
belief but are united in the desire to coexist peacefully.
There is no true or real intent on their part to be unified in
doctrine and dogma, but rather they seek only to find some lowest
common denominator of belief which all of the factious Protestant
denominations can accept. Those Orthodox who are involved in the
Ecumenical Movement are essentially trying to put a square peg in
a round hole. Orthodoxy is about the fullness of truth as
revealed within, and maintained by, the Body of Christ which is
the Orthodox Church.
The Ecumenical Movement is about eclectically assembling a
hodge-podge of disparate elements and reducing the resultant stew
into a couple of generally acceptable phrases with no more
substance than the modern media "sound-bite."
Curiously, it is cradle-Orthodox who are most likely to become
involved in the "Ecumenical Movement." To the extent
that some of these represent the immigrant Orthodox, this effort
can be regarded as an attempt to be accepted as part of the
ecclesiastical establishment in America.
At the same time, it is a seemingly "safe" thing for
the cradle Orthodox to dabble out of curiosity with Western
Christian denominations and traditions. Tied so tightly as they
are by language, culture, religion, and family to an Orthodox
ethos, it is unlikely that they will become apostates through
casual contact with the Protestant and/or Roman Catholic world.
On the other hand, there is an extreme danger that through such
contact they will gradually—almost imperceptibly—adopt customs
and traditions that draw them away from truth, from the Orthodox
phronema. For the convert Orthodox, participation in the
Ecumenical Movement is all but anathema. "Been there, done
that" might very well be their catch phrase.
Some converts left their Western Churches not out of anger or
desperation, but because their spiritual search drew them
inexorably closer to the truth of the Apostolic faith. For these,
Orthodox involvement in the Ecumenical Movement may at first seem
comforting. It is the reverse of the immigrant Orthodox seeking
acceptance; it is a kind of recognition by the convert's mother
church of the new Orthodox faith they have encountered.
Ultimately, however, most of these converts will reject the
Ecumenical Movement simply because it is ingenuine and
inconsistent with their spiritual journey.
Other converts found the Orthodox Church after realizing that
their mother Churches had abandoned the teachings they grew up
with (the case with most Protestant and Catholic denominations),
or that their Churches in fact no longer existed on the face of
the earth (especially the Anglican and Roman Catholic Churches).
For these, Orthodox involvement in the Ecumenical Movement is a
scandal and tragedy of infinite proportions. At best, converts
who as adults made a conscious decision to embrace Orthodox
Christianity—usually after no small amount of
soul-searching—find it extremely perplexing to find the cradle
Orthodox looking with interest at the churches they left and even
seeking to cooperate with them.
Most converts embraced the Orthodox Church at great personal
cost. Many are despised by their relatives (even by parents and
siblings) for having abandoned the family faith. Many lost
friendships and relationships which dated back to the years they
were living within their mother churches. Most converts have had
to rebuild their personal lives and reestablish emotional
connections in a Church that is culturally foreign to their
previous experiences and lifestyle. For those who suffered so
acutely to be part of the Orthodox Church, involvement in the
Ecumenical Movement is an extremely painful betrayal. Those
forced to endure such betrayal may even become physically ill as
a result.
Ultimately, for almost all converts, involvement in the
Ecumenical Movement boils down to one basic question: Is the
Orthodox Church truly "One, Holy, Catholic and
Apostolic." In other words, is it the true Church? The
Ecumenical Movement necessarily answers that it is not,
because they maintain that no Church has the whole truth since
all Churches have a part of the truth. Zealous and fervent
Orthodox Christians often react with great dismay at any
involvement of our Holy Church in the Ecumenical Movement. They
often consider Ecumenism itself as the "heresy of
heresies."
This is probably a fair description, because the
Protestant-led Ecumenical Movement is an eclectic blending of
disparate denominations and confessions, most of which
express—indeed embrace—one form or another of the heresies
combated historically by the Orthodox Church through its
Ecumenical Councils. Some groups within the Orthodox Church even
"wall themselves off" from those segments of the Church
which dabble with the Ecumenical Movement. Even certain monastic
communities struggle with their hierarchy over this very same
issue.
The notorious Balamand
Agreement, in particular has aroused extreme fear among
certain elements within the Orthodox Church that we are about to
effect a union with the Roman Catholic Church on terms that
accepts them "as is." Unfortunately, some individuals
within the Orthodox Church have even espoused the ridiculous
"two lungs theory," which postulates that the one
visible Body of Christ (the Church) is divided into two lungs: an
Eastern lung (the Orthodox) and a western lung (the Roman
Catholic). Such a concept is irrational; it is an oxymoron to
state that the One Church is divided.
It is true that Orthodox apologists for the Ecumenical
Movement seek to gloss over and compromise our differences with
the heterodox, presumably in a spirit of Christian charity.
Unfortunately, love that is not truthful is not charitable; love
that accepts and enables falsehood is simply not love. In fact,
the Orthodox presence in the Ecumenical Movement has been abused,
principally by the Protestants who are its main constituents. Our
presence seems only to be used by them to justify their own
positions.
Moreover, our "witness" (the supposed reason by
which we justify our continued participation) has apparently not
educated our heterodox friends; witness the total disdain and
disregard for Orthodox ecclesiology expressed by two Protestant
ministers—one an officer of a state Council of Churches
organization—for our Orthodox ecclesiology when they publicly
denounced the Bishop of Denver and our hierarchical structure.
Ignorance, or a willful attempt to bring us down to their level?
In the end, it showed that our participation in the Ecumenical
Movement means nothing.
Some fear that Orthodox Ecumenists will betray the Church; the
most often cited scenario is some kind of union with the Roman
Catholic Church. Let us remember, however, that no one person,
and no small group of persons, speaks for the Orthodox Church.
The "voice" of the Orthodox Church is consummately
conciliar. Should some second false union with the Roman Catholic
be pursued as an outgrowth of the Balamand Agreement (or any
other movement), we must remember that even the False Council of
Florence—endorsed by a personage no less influential than the
then Patriarch of Constantinople—was rejected by the Orthodox
faithful, and is counted as nothing more than a footnote to
history. Even should a vast majority of the faithful fall into
error, we must remember the period when such holy luminaries as
Saint Athanasios and Saint Maximos the Confessor stood up
virtually alone to defend the true Orthodox faith.
God will not abandon His people, but will send clear,
prophetic voices to remind us that we have received the fullness
of truth in His One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Orthodox
Church.
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