Catholic and Orthodox Ecumenism
The Catholic stance on these matters of ecclesiological unity (following Christ's prayer at the Last Supper: John 17) is, therefore, made very clear in these authoritative Church documents. In his recent encyclicals the Pope refers optimistically to the Joint International Commission for the Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church, established in 1979, and to his encouraging discussions with His Holiness Bartholomew I, Patriarch of Constantinople. The mutual anathemas of 1054 were revoked over thirty years ago (1965), with both sides admitting fault.

Thankfully, the majority view among the Orthodox concerning such ecumenical considerations is similarly open, forward-looking, and charitable (especially among its clergy). For example, Bishop Kallistos (Timothy) Ware, author of The Orthodox Church (NY: Penguin Books, rev. ed., 1980), and an Orthodox ecumenist, expressed the conciliatory Orthodox viewpoint in that well-known work (pp. 315-316, 323-324):

Over the past half century, there have been a large number of encouraging and fruitful contacts between Orthodox and other Christians. Although enormous obstacles still remain, there has also been great progress towards a reconciliation . . . while it is true to say that Orthodoxy is the Church, it is false to conclude from this that those who are not Orthodox cannot possibly belong to the Church . . . We know where the Church is but we cannot be sure where it is not; and so we must refrain from passing judgment on non-Orthodox Christians . . . There is only one Church, but there are many different ways of being related to this one Church . . . Much is also being achieved more informally through personal contacts . . . signs of a rapprochement are increasing year by year.
Orthodox Anti-Catholicism
A vocal Orthodox minority, however, is currently expressing itself in an alarmingly different fashion, which might be described as "anti-ecumenical," or, in some instances, "anti-Catholic." This group is largely drawn from converts from evangelical Protestantism or from Catholicism (Orthodoxy, like Catholicism, is experiencing a wave of conversions of late). From this highly polemical perspective, the Catholic Church is regarded as a radically corrupt church which has departed from the apostolic "mainstream," so to speak, rather than as a "sister Church," or as one of the "two lungs" of the Body of Christ, as in the Catholic and mainstream ecumenical Orthodox outlook. According to some of these critics, even the validity of Catholic sacraments (including baptism) is denied: an extremely serious charge reminiscent of the ancient heresy Donatism. Catholicism is criticized and lambasted with a frequency unbefitting self-confident followers of Jesus, at times resembling the "negative campaigning" of politicians (the Catechism of the Catholic Church, on the other hand, mentions Orthodoxy only briefly - e.g., #838 - stressing commonality rather than differences).

The time has come for Catholics to respond to at least some of these severe criticisms (1 Peter 3:15), and in so doing there is always the risk of appearing "unecumenical" or uncharitable. But what follows presupposes what the Second Vatican Council and Pope John Paul II have taught, as excerpted above. Such a reply is especially necessary with regard to certain fairly indisputable historical facts which sorely need to be recounted, as a sort of "Church history refresher course."

An ecumenical Catholic (and we are all called to be that) finds it difficult to respond in the magnificent spirit of Orientale Lumen to a polemical statement such as the following , from a book by Fr. Peter E. Gillquist (former staff member of the Protestant evangelistic group Campus Crusade): Becoming Orthodox (Brentwood, TN: Wolgemuth & Hyatt, 1989, pp. 71-72):

Rome stepped away from apostolic tradition in 1054. She left one thousand years of unity in the Church behind. No, she's not all wrong - not for a moment. But she is saddled with a papacy and a collection of dogmas that simply do not square with holy tradition. And my opinion is that she is moving further away from Orthodox Christianity, not closer . . . It's time for Rome to come back home to the unity of the Church and the faith of the Apostles and holy fathers which she once held so dear. It's time to come back to the fullness of holy tradition!

Elsewhere (p. 57) Fr. Gillquist exclaims:

. . . the whole Roman Church ended up dividing itself from the New Testament Church . . . the Roman Church drifted farther and farther from its historic roots. There are inevitable consequences to deviation from the Church. The breaking away of the Roman Church from the historic Church would prove no exception.

The Christian Activist, a free newspaper edited by Frank Schaeffer, Orthodox convert and son of the revered evangelical evangelist and author Francis Schaeffer, is perhaps the leading purveyor (among the laity) of the thought of the anti-ecumenical wing of Orthodoxy. In any given issue, one can expect to find at least a dozen highly derogatory (and sometimes factually incorrect) references to Catholicism, scattered throughout articles and letters to the editor. One article which sadly typifies the "anti-Catholic" material which regularly appears in this paper, was written by Fr. Alexey Young, and entitled "Florence 2000?: An Open Letter to All Roman Catholics and Orthodox on the State of Rome and Orthodoxy" (The Christian Activist, vol. 7, October 1995, pp. 16-20, 47-51). This article is itself an excerpt from Fr. Young's book The Rush to Embrace (Redding, CA: Nikodemos Orthodox Publication Society, 1995). Remarkable - almost unbelievable - assertions about the Catholic Church abound in this article, which are illustrative of the problem here addressed:

Why is Catholicism a radically different Church than the Orthodox Church? . . . some Orthodox leaders . . . are either shockingly naive about the reality of Rome, or are hoping that no one will notice the dangerous circus to which they are trying to hitch the Orthodox Church, the very Ark of Salvation. (p. 17)

The Latin or Western Church, known today as the Roman Catholic Church, was once part of the Universal Church. (p. 17)

Orthodox patriarchs, bishops, priests, and theologians - all you who actively pursue a policy of rapprochement with Rome: Beware. You are trying to bring the Orthodox Church into a lion's den of unbelievable malignancy. You cannot save the Catholic Church; but the Catholic Church can and will contaminate and then destroy you. (p. 47)

Like a branch that has been cut from a living tree, Rome had the outward appearance of life for many centuries after the Schism, even though lifegiving sap had really ceased to flow in her. Today, however, even the outward appearance testifies that this branch is indeed dead. (p. 48)

The Orthodox Church is the Catholic Church, in the full and true meaning of the word. She has never departed from the revealed Faith and never compromised the Truth. (p. 48)

Pope John Paul II . . . must somehow shore up his Church, his papacy. He is now turning in the direction of the east and the ancient, historic Patriarchates of Orthodoxy. He is looking for a blood transfusion for his dying Church. (p. 48)

Many have passively tolerated this dangerous and false ecumenism . . . We are . . . filled with self-infatuation and self-importance. And this has become a substitute for real spiritual life. It is precisely this - the soul-numbing and worldly subjectivity of the Roman Catholic Church - that we find so attractive, so enticing. (p. 51)
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