Patriarch Alexei Speaks out Against Executions, Abortion, Violence
Patriarch Alexei, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, has denounced capital punishment as "tantamount to premeditated murder," violating the biblical commandment, "Thou shalt not kill." His comments were published in May by the newspaper Ochnaya Stavka, published by the Prosecutor-General's Office, the Interior Ministry and the Federal Security Service.
Patriarch Alexei described abortion as another form of murder "because a mother kills her child and her own soul." Although the abortion rate in Russia has dropped in recent years, it remains among the highest in the world at 60.5 per 1,000 women of child-bearing age.
Also in May, the Patriarch protested at terrorist actions committed near a Moscow synagogue. Two men were injured when a bomb exploded outside the Lubavitch Maryina Roshcha Synagogue in the northern part of central Moscow on the eve of a major Jewish festival, Lag B'omer. Rabbi Berel Lazar said that it was a miracle that no one had been killed as dozens of students had left the building minutes before the blast tore a hole in a brick wall and shattered windows. The explosion was blamed on neo-Nazis, who have become increasingly visible in Moscow.
"Those who commit such actions," the Patriarch said, "should realize that what they do is sin and crime. They can use anything to justify their actions, but they cannot be justified. The clergy and faithful of various religions and other decent people seek today to build together peace and accord in the country. These efforts, however, have increasingly encountered the ill will aiming to fan up inter-ethnic and political enmity, to instill moral nihilism in people, to perpetrate blasphemy and sacrilege, violence and even murder. Society should very resolutely oppose this, using both the power of law and warming up the positive moral ideal in people's souls."
Church Repents of Anti-Semitism
Archbishop Spyridon, head of the Greek Orthodox Church in the USA, issued a statement May 22 expressing gratitude that the Stavropegial Monastery of St. Irene Chrysovalantou in Astoria, New York, had renounced the anti-Semitism which had characterized its publications in the past. The Old Calendarist group has reunited with the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
Archbishop Spyridon welcomed "the honest and loving rapprochement between the formerly independent Old Calendarist Churches who have not only joined the great Church of Christ, but have repudiated all forms of anti-Semitism."
Commenting on anti-Semitic remarks published in The Voice of Orthodoxy, Bishop Vikentios of Apamea, said:
"We are deeply ashamed by these past statements regarding Jews. It was the official attitude of the Old Calendarist Church of Greece to say these things which we now know to be false. We not only repent of these statements, but understand the true nature of our relationship to Jews and to people of other faiths."
Metropolitan Paisios of Tyanna also expressed his sorrow:
"In the past, our publications reflected an unenlightened attitude toward Jews, perpetuating some anti-Semitic myths whose origins extend back into medieval times. We categorically deny these lies, and seek forgiveness for having communicated such un-Christian sentiments."
Orthodox Monks in Kosovo Say Violence Belong to the Past
Monks at the Serbian Orthodox monastery near the Kosovo town of Decani issued a statement in June rejecting ethnic cleansing and calling on Albanians and Serbs to settle their differences peacefully. The monastery is in the diocese of Raska and Prizren, one of the oldest of the Serbian Orthodox Church.
The monks expressed "great grief for the town of Decani in which we have been living for years and which gives us a picture of what uncontrolled human madness can do. Although our church is deeply attached both spiritually and historically to the Serbian people, it nevertheless has a spiritual duty towards all others who live in this region, especially towards the vulnerable and the poor.
"If in this tragedy we have to take someone under our protection, morally we do not have the right to discriminate on the basis of race or religion. We courageously express our sympathy with all innocent victims, with the hungry and the displaced, no matter which ethnic group they belong to. We firmly condemn all criminal, unjust and inhuman acts, no matter where or by whom they are committed. No one has the moral right to build his happiness on the misfortune of his neighbor.
"This is what our faith teaches, along with our saints and the holy tradition of the Orthodox Church. This is what we have preached to all who have visited our monastery."
The monks appealed to both Serbs and Albanians, and their political leaders, "to continue, as soon as possible, the previous dialogue, and make a firm commitment to do all they can to stop further violence. Violence cannot be overcome by violence. Any violent act immediately produces more violence. Unfortunately, in this conflict the greatest victims are innocent civilians who suffer immensely because of aggressive political ambitions."
"Both Serbs and Albanians must understand that in 21st century Europe there is no place for ethically cleansed territories, terror and crimes. These regions of the Balkans will not be integrated in the modern world until the conditions for peaceful coexistence of all peoples, no matter what their religion or ethnic group, are created. All those who hope to realize their aggressive nationalist ideas by force and violence against the civilian population definitely belong to the past."
Serbian Orthodox Church Appeals for Tolerance
At a meeting in Belgrade in July, the bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church appealed to "all citizens to be tolerant and respect the rights of every human being." The Church condemned "any form of discrimination on religious or ethnic basis as well as every kind of repression. The Church calls the people of Kosovo and Metohja to live peacefully together in mutual respect in which lies the future not only of this region but of the world."
The bishops called on representatives of the Serbian and the Albanian people, as well as on the international community, "to do all they can in order that any violence in Kosovo and Metohja is stopped immediately and that the existing problems are resolved in peaceful and democratic methods, through unconditional dialog. In this regard the Church expects her representatives to be directly included in the peace talks because Kosovo and Metohja is its centuries-old spiritual center and is essential for its identity."
In May Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic refused an invitation from Serbian Orthodox Patriarch Pavle to meet with him and Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovic in Belgrade. Montenegrin Metropolitan Amfilohije and Bishop Artemije from Kosovo charged Milosevic with "consciously or unconsciously helping those who want to destroy the joint state of Serbia and Montenegro."
Book-Burning Ignites Debate in Russian Orthodox Church
There have been numerous reports that Bishop Nikon (Mironov) in Yekaterinburg, a city in the Urals, ordered the burning May 5 of books by the priests Alexander Schmemann, John Meyendorff and Alexander Men. A local journalist reported the volumes were confiscated from students, then burned in an iron box in the theological school's courtyard while students and faculty watched. While many details of the event remain unclear, the auto-da-fé has sparked renewed discussion in the Russian Church about the emergence of what some describe as "Orthodox fundamentalism."
In the same diocese in May, Father Oleg Vokhmyanin was defrocked by Bishop Nikon for "commitment to latter-day teachings that reject the tradition of the holy fathers and do not have the approval of the plentitude of the Orthodox Church." Following appeals sent to Patriarch Alexei to intervene, the ruling was reversed.
Some regarded the book burning as an indirect attack on Patriarch Alexei, who has often has expressed admiration for the writings of Fathers Schmemann and Meyendorff and promoted translation of their books, now used in many seminaries and religious schools across Russia.
"The events in Yekaterinburg exemplify a growing nationalist and obscurantist movement within the Russian Orthodox Church," commented the Russian Orthodox journalist Andrei Zolotov. "For arch-conservatives within the church, these three theologians are regarded with suspicion because they helped inspire the modernist movement within the Russian Orthodox Church, led by a Moscow priest, Georgi Kochetkov, who has been suspended."
Father Schmemann's widow, Juliana Schmemann, wrote to Patriarch Alexei asking him to clarify the situation. "My husband and Fr. Meyendorff," she said, "never deviated from the teaching of the holy Church, but they were motivated by the desire to enlighten people and to draw them into the love of Christ. There is no need for me to write about this. The books themselves testify to it. I write only because it is extremely important to me that you be with us and the late Fathers Alexander and John and with those who read and respect them. You know that they had and we here have in our hearts only love and the profound desire to be together with the Russian Church and our common faith."
A letter to Patriarch Alexei from OPF secretary Jim Forest noted that "these three priests have done much to build up and strengthen the Orthodox Church in this century. One of them died as a martyr. . .
"This sad event in Yekaterinburg reminds us of dark periods such as the several Inquisitions sponsored in western Europe by the Roman Catholic Church. Many books were burned and at times even the books' authors were burned. Shall our Orthodox Church resort to methods which the Roman Catholic Church at last came to realize did more harm than good?"
Hostages Freed in Chechnya
Dimitri Petrov, a Russian aid worker carrying out relief work for International Orthodox Christian Charities who was abducted last year in the southern Russian republic of Chechnya, was released August 11 after nearly eleven months in captivity.
Another IOCC Russian aid worker, Dimitri Penkowsky, was released in March. Both had been taken captive while delivering emergency relief supplies. IOCC, together with the Russian Orthodox Church and Hungarian Interchurch Aid, was carrying out the relief project on behalf of Action by Churches Together, the emergency response network of the World Council of Churches.
IOCC said that in its efforts to secure the release of the hostages, it had adhered to the principle of non-payment of ransom.
Petrov's liberation means that all the hostages who had been implementing the program coordinated by ACT have now been released.
"We are joyful and relieved," said Fr. Leonid Kishkovsky, an IOCC Board Member and the head of its Crisis Management Team. "We will continue to pray for these men and their families as they begin to heal from their ordeal."
Bulgarian Orthodox Church Plans to Withdraw from WCC
The Bulgarian Orthodox Church said in July that it would withdraw from the World Council of Churches at the next WCC World Assembly. In a statement issued July 16, the Church's diocese of Central and Western Europe said the WCC had failed to bring "satisfactory achievements" in Christian theological dialogue, adding that Bulgaria was being overrun by a "swarm of proselytizing sects" acting with the protection of "long-established Protestant churches."
Orthodox Participation in WCC Backed at Damascus Meeting
At a meeting in Damascus in mid-May, representatives of Orthodox Churches due to attend the World Council of Churches' Assembly in Nairobi backed continued involvement of Orthodox churches in the search for Christian unity, at the same time supporting a plan to form a special commission to explore ways of clarifying underlying uncertainties with regard to Orthodox participation in the WCC.
The 33 delegates "reaffirmed the importance of Orthodox commitment to and involvement in the quest for Christian reconciliation and visible unity. . . . Every form of division among Christians inhibits the preaching of the Gospel and weakens our witness in the world. Our tragic divisions often lead to divisions within society. Our unity, on the other hand, strengthens the mission of all those who wish to heal and reconcile in the name of our Lord."
Referring to tensions in the relationships of the Orthodox Church and the ecumenical movement, the report commented: "Orthodox in some places have had to reassess their involvement in the ecumenical movement. . . . In some places, the Orthodox have become the victims of proselytism. In other places, some ecumenical activities no longer have as their goal the restoration of Christian unity. In other places, Orthodox are deeply troubled by the crisis in values and the moral stances taken by certain Christian groups. . . . These and similar concerns have contributed to the erosion of the relationships between Orthodox and other Christians."
The group said that it is time to reflect on the future of the WCC. "We affirm the need for change which would enable a more effective presence and witness, together with a more constructive and engaged participation from the Orthodox."
The meeting identified common prayer and morality as areas of concern. On prayer, it says, "two pastoral factors make common prayer more difficult than ever before: the increased tension within our churches on this issue, and the changing character of what we experience as 'ecumenical worship' in recent years and assemblies. In ecumenical worship services there is a marked decrease in the sensitivity to the different traditions and their liturgical sensibilities and liturgical ethos."
The participants said the WCC "can be a useful forum . . . for reflection and study on questions pertaining to marriage and family life, which would include topics such as abortion, human sexuality, drugs and urban crime. Many ... issues, in particular those concerning sexual orientation and abortion, are particularly contentious. The treatment of such issues under the banner of 'human rights' has both positive and negative potential: on the one hand, it would affirm our common calling to treat all human persons with love and respect in view of their being created in the image of God. On the other hand, we would not want to be prevented, on the basis of 'human rights', from stating that certain lifestyles and practices are not God-ordained."
Orthodox Theological Society Supports WCC Engagement
At a meeting held at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Brookline, Massachusetts, on June 4-5, the Orthodox Theological Society in America focused on Orthodox participation in the World Council of Churches. The association urged continuity in the relationship, but called for changes in the WCC.
"When Christians are divided, the world is denied that sign that is a witness to the healing offered by God to a world afflicted by the sin of separation and alienation," the final statement declared.
The Society said that "differences, schisms and heresies that caused divisions among Christians were the result of a long process of growing alienation. These divisions will not be healed without effort and even some pain. We all owe much to the ecumenical movement for expressing this process of reconciliation of Christians and the visible unity of the churches."
What has increasingly hampered dialogue, the society said, is erosion of common vision. "Common vision has increasingly been replaced in some ecumenical settings by particular social and political agendas derived solely from human experience and divorced from the Gospel. This has provoked dissatisfaction among us, thus precipitating the current crisis."
Criticism of the WCC by Orthodox Christians, they noted, falls into two categories. "On the one hand there are those who spread untruths about the WCC. Either through being misinformed themselves, or in the deliberate intention to misinform others, some extremist groups within or on the fringes of the Orthodox Church, hold that membership in the Council is a heresy in itself. On the other hand, however, there are critics of the WCC who, on the basis of their intense commitment to and involvement with the Council, are deeply disappointed with the directions that it is taking. Just as much as the propaganda of the former groups is to be repudiated or ignored, the criticism of the latter needs to be listened to with care."
The theologians backed structural change within the WCC. "The current constitutional framework of the WCC mitigates against equitable participation in the governing bodies, advisory councils, and staff by the Orthodox Church because there are two opposite ecclesiologies operative. The number of member churches in the WCC continues to grow, but . . . the number of Orthodox churches will not grow significantly beyond their present number. For the churches of the Reformation, the impulse has been to multiply the number of churches. For the Orthodox, the ecclesiological approach does not easily or quickly allow the creation of new self- governing churches. Simply put, given the constitutional framework of the WCC, the Orthodox churches are not represented commensurate with their place within world Christianity."
For the WCC to avoid going in the direction of becoming a "superchurch," care must be taken to refrain "from formulations or liturgical rites which suggest an ecclesial identity which the Council in fact does not possess."
The society affirmed "the need for common prayer in order to heal our ancient divisions," but added that "unfortunately, ecumenical worship sometimes has been dominated and driven by issues which not only deflect from the concern for Christian reconciliation and unity but also themselves become the focus of attention. Rather than having communion with the Triune God as its focus, ecumenical worship sometimes has become the platform for particular social and political agendas and causes incompatible with the Gospel. Of course, in worship it is appropriate to lift up our living concerns in prayer. But when these concerns become the dominant element, Christian worship is deformed."
note: The full text of the statement can be found on the OPF web site at: http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/jim_forest/otsa.htm
posted September 9, 1998