MP's Draft "Orthodox catechism" defends ecumenism
Catholic Herald, 1 August 2017
A new draft catechism of the Russian Orthodox church
{i.e. the Moscow Patriarchate}
has declared ecumenical discussions to date ‘completely faithful
and obedient’ to Christian teaching, in opposition to critics of
ecumenism within the (world-wide Orthodox) church.
The Catechesis of the Russian Orthodox Church-MP,
issued with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow,
follows a submission to the Council of Bishops in February, and is
published
for Church-wide discussion.
The sixth and final part of the document, which covers attitudes towards
the non-Orthodox, is non-negotiable, but its assertion that ecumenical
representatives have acted “in complete agreement with the canonical
rules” runs contrary to prominent voices within
the [world-d wide Orthodox] church, who have pointed to the dangers of
the ecumenical movement.
Many figures within the world-wide Orthodox Church, including St Justin
Popovich, Elder Ephraim of Katounakia, St Paisios the Athonite, St
Seraphim of Sobolev, Fr Seraphim Rose, and Metropolitan Hierotheos
(Vlachos), have been vocal about the dangers the [Ecumenical]
movement poses.
Following last year’s Council on Crete, the Churches of Georgia and Bulgaria were also guarded in their responses.
The February 2016 joint declaration between Patriarch Kirill and Pope
Francis contained expressions “which are by no means indisputable, and
sometimes erroneous,” according to Fr George Maximov.
Part VI of the draft catechism quotes a "Pan-Orthodox meeting"
(?), in Thessaloniki in 1998:
{During
Orthodox participation of many decades in the ecumenical movement,
Orthodoxy has never been betrayed by any representative of a Local
Orthodox Church. On the contrary,
these representatives have always been completely faithful and obedient
to their respective Church authorities, and acted in complete agreement
with the canonical rules, the Teaching of the Ecumenical Councils, the
Church Fathers and the Holy Tradition of
the Orthodox Church (7.3)}....!!!
The draft catechism follows an initial submission to the Council of the
M- Bishops in January. The council then forwarded the draft to the permanent members of the
MP-Holy Synod,
the primates of the patriarchate’s autonomous Churches, the first
hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia,-ROCOR/MP under
Hilarion Kapral, the heads of Synodal institutions and theological schools, and
MP-diocesan bishops who expressed a desire to participate in reviewing the text.
The idea of creating a
("modern catechism") was first raised at the
MP-Bishops’ Council in 2008.
Prominent theologians of the Russian Orthodox Church-MP, as well as professors of various theological academies, have been involved in the project.
Guest reviews are being accepted for Parts I-III, while Parts IV-VI are
"non-negotiable".
The full text of the draft catechesis can be found at
theolcom.ru.
