The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East has been involved with ecumenical dialogue since the advent of the Faith and Order movement in the 1920's. In the United States of America the Federal Council of Churches of Christ approached Archbishop Antony (Bashir), Metropolitan of the Syrian Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese of New York and North America, to join them in 1936. Metropolitan Antony joined the council for two main reasons: 1) membership would provide the necessary authenticity and exposure for Orthodox Christianity in the US, and 2) reassurance from the council that it would ask for no money for the archdiocese’s membership. This became the principle rule for our archdiocese’s ecumenical participation for many years, including membership in the newly-formed National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA (NCCC) in 1950.
In 1969, Metropolitan Philip (Saliba) led the change of the archdiocese’s name to the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of New York and all North America. In 1975, Metropolitan Philip and Archbishop Michael (Shaheen) of the Archdiocese of Toledo and Dependencies effected the union of the two North American Antiochian Archdioceses. The unified Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America continues to be involved in inter-Orthodox activities and ecumenically in several areas: 1) The Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in America (SCOBA); 2) National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA (NCCC); 3) the newly-forming Christian Churches Together in the USA (CCT); 4) Orthodox-Catholic Theological Consultation; 5) Orthodox-Lutheran Theological Consultation; 6) World Council of Churches (WCC) membership through the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East.
Since 1975, the archdiocese’s active involvement in ecumenism is based on several principles, which were best expressed in a report of the “Special SCOBA Commission on Ecumenical Relations” regarding membership in the NCCC, 1992, and which follow:
The present involvement of the Orthodox Church in the ecumenical movement is regularly and faithfully reflected in the columns of our Orthodox publications. However, the movement today is a rapidly evolving and highly confused phenomenon. Orthodox Christians, especially those living in the West, simply cannot fail to face the problem. Some of them give, at the very start, an enthusiastic approval to any ecumenical enterprise. Some, on the contrary, react with a violent opposition to any ecumenism, which they identify with a betrayal of the faith. The vast majority, however, remains passive, expects guidance from the Church and feels uneasy when guidance fails to come or is given in a contradictory and inconsistent way.
It is well, therefore, to reiterate a few fundamental principles from which the Orthodox attitude to other Christians, and to ecumenism, stems.
First of all the Orthodox Church is neither a ‘sect’ nor a ‘denomination,’ but the true Church of God. This fact defines both the necessity and the limits of our involvement in ecumenism:
(1) The Church of God, because it is ‘catholic’ and ‘apostolic,’ is concerned with the whole of humanity, with the whole of Truth and with everything positive and good happening in the world; if we refuse to learn, to listen, to be concerned with the life and the beliefs of other Christians, we will not only miss much ourselves, but we will also be unfaithful to Christ’s commandment of love and to our responsibility to witness to Orthodoxy everywhere. Inasmuch as the various ecumenical meetings, councils, and assemblies, provide us with these opportunities, it is our Christian and Orthodox duty to be there.
(2) However, since the Lord has established only One Church, since our being Orthodox implies that we are members of it, and since, therefore, the fullness of the Truth is accessible to us even if it is not entirely understood by each one of us individually, there cannot be, on our part, any compromise in matters of Faith. Our essential responsibility in the ecumenical movement is to affirm that the true Christian Unity is not unity on the basis of a ‘common minimum’ between denominations, but a unity in God. And God is never a ‘minimum:’ He is the Truth itself! The limit of our participation in the ecumenical movement is in our opposition to relativism.
These two principles must remain the primary focus for our continued ecumenical commitment, in spite of the fact that the ecumenical movement itself has gone through many historical phases–‘Life and Work’ principles, which meant that theological, doctrinal differences were to be disregarded, and Christians were to ‘live’ and ‘work’ together as if the differences did not exist; ‘Faith and Order’ movement, which placed theological discussion at the forefront so that Christian unity could be reached through doctrinal agreement; and the creation of the World Council of Churches.
It is on the assumption that these reasonable principles were accepted by all that the Orthodox Churches joined the ecumenical movement. And, in spite of the fact that in recent years many new factors have appeared which bear heavily on the situation, we must not shy away from our commitment based on our original principles for participation within that movement.
The Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in America (SCOBA)
A second attempt (the first in the Syrian jurisdiction followed the Soviet campaign against the Russian Church which had missionized and formed the first Orthodox hierarchy in America) to form an inter-ethnic organ for consultation and cooperation was made as a result of problems connected with World War II in 1942 and was the so-called Federated Primary Orthodox Jurisdictions.
The Federation early became moribund and as a result of the initiative of Metropolitan Anthony Bashir (Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese), a new effort resulted in the formation of the Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in America in 1960 consisting of the primates of the American Orthodox communities canonically dependent on Sees in the world Orthodox Church. The Standing Conference normally meets twice yearly and at present bridges these gatherings with the work of a Study and Planning Commission. One national conference of the entire American episcopate has been held, plans for a Washington office are under discussion, and the budget now provides for two secretaries.
Christian Churches Together in the U.S.A. (CCT)
A striking new gesture toward a broadly inclusive ecumenical structure is in formation as a spectrum including everyone from the Orthodox and Roman Catholics to the Evangelical/ Pentecostal and everything in between. Two meetings have been held, the first at Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, CA in 2003, and the second at a retreat center outside Houston, TX in 2004. Greek Orthodox, Antiochian Orthodox and OCA representatives were present, as well as those from Oriental jurisdictions of the Coptic and Armenian Churches.
The proposed constitution of the developing organization would provide for the following:
• The organization shall consist of representatives of Churches and Christian organizations.
• All decisions will be made on the basis of consensus, which means that every decision requires unanimous consent by the representatives of the member groups.
• The members shall be divide into several “Faith Groups,” including Protestant, Catholic, Evangelical, Pentecostal and Orthodox.
• The Orthodox group will include both Eastern and Oriental Orthodox.
• Each of these Faith Groups will have two representatives on the Executive Council.
• It was agreed that each Faith Group will have the right to determine its own membership. This was proposed by the Orthodox to keep non-Orthodox groups from gaining some sort of legitimacy by participation in the Orthodox Faith Group.
In addition to the constitution, the following agreements have been reached:
• The organization should avoid involvement in political issues.
• The organization will avoid so-called ecumenical worship and will follow the guidelines presented by the Orthodox to the World Council of Churches (WCC).
• Various churches and Faith Groups will be called upon to provide prayer and worship, leaving it up to the individual members the option as to what degree they can participate.
• The organization will also recognize that membership does not imply ecclesiastical recognition by one member of any of the other members (Toronto Principle in the WCC).
North American Orthodox-Catholic Theological Consultation
This semiannual Consultation met three times between May 2003 and June 2004 under the co-chairmanship of His Eminence Metropolitan Maximos, Greek Orthodox Bishop of Pittsburgh, and the Most Reverend Daniel Pilarczyk, Archbishop of Cincinnati. Each meeting usually runs for an afternoon, a full day, and a morning and is usually divided into seven sessions: one business; two informational; and four theological. The business sessions draw up plans for the next meeting–time, place and theological subjects to be examined. The informational has various members of the Consultation report briefly on recent developments in each Church. The theological sessions normally involve presentation of pre-assigned papers for discussion. Because the theological sessions comprise the heart of each meeting, this report focuses on them.
May 27-29, 2003, held at St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary, Crestwood, NY. All four theological sessions were devoted to consideration of the Consultation’s draft text on the filioque.
October 23-25, 2003, held at St. Paul’s College, Washington, DC. The draft text on the filioque again commanded the Consultation’s attention at all four theological sessions. The text was finalized and approved for publication.
June 1-3, 2004, held at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, Brookline, MA. The first theological session was devoted to reactions to the Consultation’s statement on the filioque. The Consultation then began its deliberations on Papal primacy, with a paper by Metropolitan Maximos on the Papal encyclical, Ut Unum Sint, and another by Fr. Brian Daley on The Ministry of Primacy and the Communion of Churches. At the second theological session Fr. Thomas Fitzgerald summarized the Consultation’s earlier statements on apostolicity and primacy/conciliarity. Prof. Paul Meyendorff followed with presentation concerning the document on the Petrine Ministry issued by the National Council of Churches’ Faith and Order Commission. Fr. John Long then spoke concerning the document on Petrine Ministry issued by the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity. At the third theological session, Fr. John Galvin summarized Metropolitan John Zizioulis’ article, Primacy in the Church: An Orthodox Approach. Fr. Nicholas Apostola followed with a summary of Zizioulis’ article, Recent Discussions on Primacy in Orthodox Theology. The third session closed with Prof. Thomas Bird’s summary of the Opening Address delivered by Walter Cardinal Kaspar at the Symposium on the Petrine Ministry, convened in Rome in May 2003. In lieu of a fourth theological session, a discussion took place concerning the next phase of the Consultation’s study of Papal primacy.
Robert M. Haddad, the author of this report, has been a member of St. Mary’s Orthodox Church (Brooklyn, NY) since its inception and a member of this Consultation for more than twenty-five years. He received his Ph.D. in History and Middle Eastern Studies from Harvard University and is Sophia Smith Professor of History and Professor of Religion Emeritus at Smith College. >From 1993 to 1997, he served as president of the American University of Beirut. Dr. Haddad has pursued research in the Middle East and Europe as a Fulbright Scholar, a Ford Foundation Fellow and a Fellow of the Social Science Research Council. He is author of Syrian Christians in Muslim Society: an Interpretation (Princeton University Press, 1970) and numerous articles dealing mainly with the intellectual and political interaction between Islam and Eastern Christianity and between Greek and Latin Christianity. His current work-in-progress deals with the affinities and divergences that characterized medieval Islam, Greek Christianity and Latin Christianity.
We are currently completing the latest round of dialogue between Lutherans and Orthodox in North America. Although the last round ended with remarkable agreement on the doctrine of Justification, the current round of The North American Orthodox Lutheran Ecumenical Dialogue has been less successful. For the last ten years representatives of SCOBA and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) have met yearly to discuss various issues including, the requirements for the establishment of communion between two Christian bodies, the “filioque” clause, the date of Pascha, and local cooperation between Orthodox and Lutherans. Unfortunately, the dialogue has produced no significant agreements. For example, although the Lutherans agreed that the west acted unilaterally by adding the “filioque” clause to the creed, they defended the theology of the double procession of the Holy Spirit from the Father and the Son. Both sides agreed that the decisions of the First Ecumenical Council in Nicea should be the standard for the determination of the date of Pascha, but disagreed on the application of those standards. Although the dialogue continues, several developments within the ELCA seriously threaten the possibility of any serious understanding between Orthodox and Lutherans. For example, the ELCA is willing to enter into communion with other churches on the basis of agreement on a few points of theology. The Lutherans have entered into full communion with such differing bodies as the United Church of Christ, the Presbyterians and other bodies with a Calvinist heritage while entering into full communion with the Episcopalians at the same time. However, Orthodox insist on complete agreement on all points of belief on the basis of a common acceptance of the teachings of the Fathers and the Ecumenical Councils before it is possible to consider establishing communion with any other group. Another potential problem is the possibility that the ELCA will take a position on the divisive issue of homosexuality that will seriously jeopardize future relations between Orthodox and Lutherans in North America. Next summer the national convention of the ELCA will consider the ordination of practicing homosexuals and blessing same sex unions, a step that would seriously threaten any future relations between Orthodox and Lutherans.
Archpriest John W. Morris
General: The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide fellowship of Christian churches. It is the broadest and most inclusive institutional expression of the ecumenical movement, bringing together more than 340 churches, denominations and church fellowships in over 100 countries and territories throughout the world, representing some 400 million Christians and including most of the world's Orthodox churches, among them the Patriarchate of Antioch, and scores of denominations from such historic traditions of the Protestant Reformation as Anglican, Baptist, Lutheran, Methodist and Reformed, as well as many united and independent churches. The world’s largest Christian body, the Roman Catholic Church, is not a member of the WCC, but has worked closely with the Council for more than three decades and sends representatives to all major WCC conferences as well as to its Central Committee meetings and the assemblies.
WCC homepage: www.wcc-coe.org
The Special Commission:
Since the foundation of the modern ecumenical movement, the main families of churches participating have been those from the so-called "Protestant" traditions (including Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, Reformed, Baptist, Methodist, etc.) and the Orthodox churches. While the relationship has been marked by periods of greater and lesser cooperation, there has always been dissonance in the basic self-understanding of Orthodox and Protestant churches and the way in which they relate to the One
In response to the critical nature of these developments, and specifically to a recommendation from an Eastern Orthodox meeting held at
Special Commission homepage: www.wcc-coe.org/wcc/who/special-01-e.html
While the report of the Special Commission is not a list of Orthodox “desiderata”, it does represent significant, even historic, changes in the life of the World Council of Churches that will redress some of the perennial structural issues that have shadowed Orthodox involvement in the WCC and will provide a constructive basis for improving the style and ethos of work in the World Council and for deepening the fellowship among the member churches. Those Orthodox Churches committed to maintaining ecumenical dialogue and witness recognize that the WCC has been critically important for the Orthodox Churches in becoming known by the western traditions of the Christian world, as well as known to the secular world. Those representatives of the Orthodox churches engaged in this process have undertaken their work with a deep sense of responsibility for the integrity of the Orthodox faith and Tradition, as well as understanding that the Orthodox Church cannot be true to the Gospel message and remain cloistered, willing to communicate only with other Orthodox Christians. The Orthodox Churches must remain at the ecumenical table in order to provide witness in a wounded, fractured world to the truth, depth and traditions of the apostolic faith.
The Decade to Overcome Violence: Churches Seeking Reconciliation and Peace (DOV) 2001 -- 2010 is an initiative of the World Council of Churches, first conceived of and approved by the 1998 Harare Assembly that calls churches, ecumenical organizations, and all people of goodwill:
Decade to Overcome Violence homepage: www.overcomingviolence.org
In 2004, the focus of the DOV is on the
Ecumenical Accompaniement Programme in
The EAPPI is an initiative of the World Council of Churches under the Ecumenical Campaign to End the Illegal Occupation of Palestine: Support a Just Peace in the Middle East. Its mission is to accompany Palestinians and Israelis in their non-violent actions and concerted advocacy efforts to end the occupation. Participants of the programme are monitoring and reporting violations of human rights and international humanitarian law, supporting acts of non-violent resistance alongside local Christian and Muslim Palestinians and Israeli peace activists, offering protection through non-violent presence, engaging in public policy advocacy and, in general, standing in solidarity with the churches and all those struggling against the occupation. EAPPI Homepage: www.eappi.org
Anne Glynn Mackoul, a parishioner at Saint Philip Antiochian Orthodox Church, Souderton, PA, represents the Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East on the central committee of the World Council of Churches and served on the WCC Special Commission on Orthodox Participation in the WCC. She is a member of the Board of Trustees of Saint Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary, of the International Orthodox Christian Charities and of the US Conference of the World Council of Churches
THE ORTHODOX PATRIARCHATE OF ANTIOCH AND ALL THE EAST
The Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America is part of the Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East. The See of Antioch dates back to the days of the Apostles Peter and Paul, founders and patrons of the Church of Antioch, and currently ranks third in honor among the fifteen autocephalous Orthodox Churches. It was in Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians (Acts 11:26). The first Bishop of Antioch was St. Peter the Apostle and the third was St. Ignatius of Antioch; it was from Antioch that Saint Peter and Saint Barnabas set out on their great missionary journeys, a tradition that marks the history of the Church of Antioch. When the Turks took the city of Antioch, the offices of the Patriarchate of Antioch was moved to Damascus, the civil capital of Syria, where it remains to this day “on the street called Straight.” (Acts 9:11).
The Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and all the East comprises nineteen archdioceses throughout the world, including in the Middle East (Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq and the Arabian Peninsula), Europe, North and South America and Australia, among them the archdiocese of North America.
The current Patriarch of Antioch His Beatitude, Ignatius IV (Hazim) is the one hundred and seventieth Patriarch after Saint Peter. On 2 July 1979, under the name of Ignatius IV, he became the Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch, the third ranking hierarch of the Orthodox Church after the Patriarchs of Constantinople and Alexandria.
The following websites link the See of Antioch:
Home page of the Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East: www.antiochpat.org
Saint John of Damascus Institute of Theology: www.balamand.edu.lb/theol...
The Orthodox Archdiocese of Aleppo and Antioch: www.alepporthodox.org/
The Orthodox Archdiocese of Beirut: www.quartos.org.lb/
The Orthodox Archdiocese of Byblos & Botrys (Mount Lebanon): www.ortmtlb.org.lb/
The Antiochian Orthodox Diocese in Western and Central Europe: www.orthodox.clara.net/