Posted on 04/10/2005 8:08:48 PM PDT by Leo Carpathian
By Jeffrey Donovan, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) Prague, Czech Republic
A key ambition of Pope John Paul II, especially in the years just before his death, was to reunite Christianity’s divided churches. As the first Slavic pope, John Paul was concerned above all with the Orthodox -- the Eastern churches that split with Roman Catholicism in 1054. But while progress was made in Catholic-Orthodox relations, the Russian Orthodox Church never allowed Pope John Paul to fulfill his cherished dream of visiting Russia.
Today, relations between Catholicism and Russian Orthodoxy remain strained, with Moscow accusing Rome of aggressively proselytizing in Russia and other traditionally Orthodox countries. As the pope is laid to rest, some are questioning whether his hopes for uniting Christianity will be buried with him.
PRAGUE - “The problem, Holy Father, is you.” Those words were reportedly uttered to Pope John Paul II by a Greek Orthodox leader in Rome in 1982. They refer to the Orthodox rejection of the Roman Catholic claim of papal authority and infallibility. Unlike any pope before him, John Paul, the first Slavic pope, worked tirelessly to reunite Catholicism with the Orthodox churches bordering his native Poland.
But papal authority, or “Rome’s primacy” -- as well as politics and identity, particularly in Russia and Ukraine -- continues to divide the main branches of Christianity nearly 1,000 years after their “Great Schism.” “The primacy of Rome is undoubtedly [a key problem],” says Monsignor Romano Scalfi, an Italian priest who for half a century has worked to bridge the Catholic-Orthodox divide.
“However, the pope said he was willing to negotiate on the modalities in which the primate is exercised. Not much is said against the primacy [of Rome], and that’s because the Orthodox Church already acknowledges a certain ‘inter paris’ [among equals] primacy. After all, before the Schism in 1054, the primacy of the pope was more or less recognized, even in the East.”
The pope made getting back to that pre-Schism state a goal in his 1995 encyclical “Ut unum sint” ("On Christian Unity”). But even amid cooperation with some Orthodox leaders, such as Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, the pope met continuously with suspicion and distrust among the Eastern churches.
The leader of Russia's Orthodox Church -- Patriarch Aleksii -- repeatedly refused to meet the pope or allow him to visit Russia. Aleksii did not attend today's funeral, instead sending three representatives led by Metropolitan Kirill, head of external relations for the Moscow Patriarchate.
Bartholomew, after visiting with pope at the Vatican in June 2004, said in a statement that despite ecumenical progress, “papal primacy remains a particular concern” for Orthodoxy.
The situations in Ukraine and Russia -- where the Catholic-Orthodox divide also carries great political significance -- drive that point home. In Ukraine, some 5 million so-called Greek Catholics or “Uniates” follow Orthodox rites yet pledge their allegiance to the pope. Orthodox leaders fear that through the Uniates, Rome has a model for making the Orthodox churches obedient to the Vatican.
In a historic visit to western Ukraine or Galicia in 2001, the pope made an emotional appeal to Uniates, long associated with the drive for a Ukraine independent of Moscow. And he mentioned Cardinal Slipyj, a historic leader of the Uniates who spent 17 years in a Soviet gulag. "This Galician soil, which in the course of history saw the development of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, in the words of the unforgettable Cardinal Josyf Slipyj, was covered by a mountain of corpses and rivers of blood," Pope John Paul said.
But rather than improve relations with the Orthodox, the pope’s Ukrainian trip seemed only to deepen their fears of a Catholic invasion. Those fears would seem to encompass the political sphere, as well.
Last year, the Russian Orthodox Church strongly favored pro-Moscow candidate Viktor Yanukovych in Ukraine’s disputed presidential elections won by Western-leaning Viktor Yushchenko, who had strong backing from Ukrainian Catholics and Uniates.
In Belarus -- which, like Russia, this pope never visited -- President Alyaksandr Lukashenka has strongly backed the Russian Orthodox Church’s stake as the country’s main religion. There have also been attacks on Catholic and Uniate churches there. Lukashenka even campaigned alongside Orthodox leaders before his reelection in 2001.
In Russia, Aleksii has accused the Vatican of seeking to exploit the Orthodox Church’s devastation under communism to win converts to Catholicism.
Yet statistics suggest the number of Catholics in Russia -- about 600,000 out of a population of 150 million -- has fallen in recent years. Meanwhile, converts to Protestant religions are soaring, while a recent poll said that only 1 percent of Russians attend Orthodox services.
Italian priest Scalfi, the founder of a Milan-based magazine on Orthodoxy called “La Nuova Europa,” says he doesn’t understand why Catholics are treated so harshly in Russia while Orthodox leaders seem to turn a blind eye to the spread of Protestantism. “For us, what’s hard to explain is the nonchalance, as it were, of the Russian Orthodox Church toward Protestantism, which is expanding like no one could have predicted," Scalfi said. "That is, more than 9,000 communities. Since the Orthodox Church has just 11,000 parishes, you can imagine [what will happen] if this [trend] continues.”
In a recent book called “You Are Peter,” Orthodox theologian Olivier Clement of France argues that Catholicism and Orthodoxy can reunite e ven by accepting a form of primacy for the Roman pontiff. Clement says this would result in a “creative tension” between the two Christian branches that would not give Rome absolute authority.
But concerns over politics and identity seem as much a part of the question as do issues of religious authority. Orthodoxy has long been closely aligned with political authority -- in Moscow and elsewhere. Early last year in Moscow, Patriarch Aleksii himself called for greater unity of Orthodox countries to fend off challenges to their traditions.
“The challenges of time naturally push nations and states -- [through] culture, world outlook, and spiritual position -- to unite," Aleksii said. "Integration trends are on the way in Europe. Muslim states seek to consolidate their [position] on the world stage. Is it possible, under such conditions, for countries with age-old Orthodox traditions and culture to remain disconnected [and] on the sidelines.”
John Paul II’s opening to the East was unlike that of any other pope. He visited many Orthodox countries, including Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Georgia, and Ukraine. The pope dreamed of unity. But what he achieved was a dialogue that has only just begun.
[The Action Ukraine Report Monitoring Service]
FOOTNOTE: The churches structures mentioned in the article above should first strongly support and practice the democratic concepts of complete "freedom of religion" and the "separation of church and state." Then they should just get on with their religious work. Mergers that create huge monopolistic structures are not good for religion or business. History has shown that power corrupts, especially in the church, and of course also in the state and in business. (EDITOR)
They are Catholics are they not? The Soviets cared nothing for the Uniate differences between Orthodox and Latins so these full Catholics (unless they claim some mutation) were placed under the Latin Churches until Soviet President Michael Gorbachev allowed these Uniates to reform. The Orthodox Church had nothing to do with it. In fact it was under the Soviets that the Uniates were allowed to reclaim Churches - while the Orthodox were still locked out of theirs.
Same thing happened when the Mongols were running the show. The Orthodox don't learn from their mistakes.
Actually neither of them excommunicated the other.
It's incredible that you keep repeating this lie. Russian princes were ALLIED to the Mongols.
Only one lieing here is your revisionist self.
Wholly Karp!! Dude be not afraid of the Dewey decimal system. It can be your friend.
But then again why bother. It's alot more fun to make up facts to suit an agenda.
No it was not. Being persecuted in the early days and being under state control does not constitute being legally abolished.
The Gorbachev era Soviets allowed the Unates to regroup in the Western Ukraine - while in the Eastern Ukraine and inside Russia the Orthodox Church was still being repressed. Soviet attempt to divide and rule - That is a fact.
A non-circular proof of Sola Scriptura...
That's easy: faith that the New Testament was inspired by the Holy Spirit. The Catholic Church no more created the New Testament Canon than Newton created the basic principles of physics.
To be included in the Bible, each book had to pass two standards. First, it had to have a history of continuous and widespread approval amongst Christians. Second, it was expected to demonstrate that it had either been written by an apostle or specifically approved by the apostles.
The Muratorian Canon (approximately AD 170) only differs on 4 books. This shows widespread ealy support for the established canon.
The church may bear witness to the canon, but the church did not create the canon. I follow an Apostolic Church. A church founded by the Apostles. The words of the Apostles, inspired by the Holy Spirit, are sufficient for my salvation. I am saved by grace, through faith, for works.
I do not believe I require the Catholic Church or any of its traditions for salvation. If you can, name one teaching or tradition of the Catholic Church (not contained in the Bible) that I require for salvation.
Once you have the Bible as inspired by the Holy Spirit, the rest is easy. But we'll disagree, so I won't continue.
I really do have an open mind about the Catholic Church. However, other than the keys given to Peter, I have yet to see an intersting or believable arguement to support the Catholic Church's claims.
From the book "Stalin's Holy War":
One thing I have to admit - you don't let facts get in the way of your disgusting bigoted agenda.
Communists never allowed any such nonsense as you are expousing.
Are you not aware that Ukrainian Catholics fell under Soviet rule in 1939 when western Ukraine was incorporated into the Soviet Union as part of the Nazi-Soviet Nonaggression Pact? It was liquidated in 1946. The repression of Catholics started immediately in 1939.
Did you even know that western Ukraine was not under bolsheviks/Stalin until 1939?
You are aware that the seat of the Ukrainian Catholic church was in Lviv because Catholics previoulsy had been expelled from Kyiv by tsarist Russia?
And btw, that web site was certainly not complimentary towards the Russian Orthodox church. Did you read it? What were you thinking?
Folks, we all know the sad history of relations between Orthodoxy and Catholicism, from the sack of Constantinople in 1204 to our own blood-soaked 20th century dominated by atheistic communism. The Bolsheviks in Eastern Europe were the enemies of ALL Christians, whatever temporary political favoritism they may have displayed to one Church or another. Please, please, please don't hack away at each other on this unhappy matter, my friends. I am not a peaceful man by nature(God knows) and have strong feelings on this subject myself, but I can't help feeling a certain dark spirit is especially pleased when strong Orthodox and Catholic Christians trade blows with such ferocity. May Our Lord have mercy on all His suffering people.
I knew you were going to say that, that is why I picked it. Let us see you claim it as a biased source now.
And as it stated: The Bolsheviks proved far more successful in promoting nationalist splits within the church than they had with the obnovlentsy; in fact, they turned out to be too successful for their own interests. In order to fracture Russian Orthodoxy from within, the Kremlin encouraged, or at least did not impede, the flourishing of Ukrainian and Belorussian splinter groups such as the Ukrainian Autonomous and the Ukrainian Autocephalous churches. Whereas the former, as the name implies, sought to establish a degree of distance between Muscovite authority and the Orthodox Church in Ukraine, the latter wanted outright ecclesiastical independence from Russian authority.
The communists, strong in backward Ruthenia, attempted to appeal to the Ukrainian element by espousing union with the Soviet Ukraine. In 1935 the communists polled 25 percent of the Ruthenian vote. The elections of 1935 gave only 37 percent of the Ruthenian vote to political parties supporting the Czechoslovak government. The communists, Unified Magyars, and autonomist groups polled 63 percent.
And that attempt lasted what 8 years?
The Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church at the beginning of the 1930s was liquidated.
Now go read a book.
Are you drunk?
It was. You are ignorant.
By making Stalin die?
Relative of Destro?
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