by Archbishop Job of Telmessos, WCC
On 31 October 2016, Lutherans and Catholics co-hosted for the first time in history a joint commemoration of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation.
The events took place in Lund, Sweden,
under the slogan “From Conflict to Communion”. Many Orthodox
representatives attended the event. What did it mean for them? I cannot
respond to this question on behalf of all the Orthodox present, but I
will try to explain how I perceived it through my eyes.
In order to understand the significance of this
commemoration for an Orthodox, one must ask: how were reformers
perceived by the Orthodox in the 16th century? In fact, the
Orthodox always considered themselves as “Latins”, that is, in the
language of that time, as Western Christians. Indeed, the Reformation
became a controversy in the West, setting Roman Catholics and
Protestants into opposition. But the Orthodox never took party on any
side of the conflict, and never condemned any of them. As a matter of
fact, the Orthodox would even use the arguments of one side while
disputing with the other. The anti-papist arguments of the Protestants
were welcomed by the Orthodox when they were facing uniatism promoted by
the Roman Catholics, as arguments of the Roman Catholics were used
against Protestant proselytism, especially on the subject of sacraments.
In the 16th-18th centuries, the
Orthodox widely used the model of “confessional books” of Protestantism
as well as “Catechism” of the Roman Catholics. Two famous examples are
the Confession of Patriarch Cyril Lucaris, first published in Latin in
Geneva (1629), filled with Calvinistic elements, on the one hand, and
the Catechism of Peter Moghila (1640) famous for its pro-Catholic
statements, taken in part from the Catechism of Canisius, on the other.
Another Confession, the one of Dositheus of Jerusalem (1672), often
considered as the most important Orthodox dogmatic text of this period,
states that Lutherans who wish to join the Orthodox Church ought to be
received in the same way as the Roman Catholics. This shows that for the
Orthodox, in the past, Reformers and Catholics were considered as two
sides of the same Western Christian medal.
And how did the Reformers consider the Orthodox? In 1519, in his
dispute with Johann Eck, Martin Luther himself referred to the Orthodox,
stating that they did not acknowledge the universal supremacy of the
pope over all the Churches. Luther said on this point: “The Greek Church
does not agree on this point and nevertheless is not considered as
heretic for that”. Unfortunately, Luther did not have any personal
contacts with the Orthodox, which might have slightly modified the
Reformation. Nevertheless, Lutheran theologians have sought support from
the Orthodox on many occasions. Philip Melanchton had contacts with
Greek Orthodox from Venice between 1542 and 1562 and even with the
Patriarch of Constantinople Joasaph to whom he sent a letter with a
Greek translation of the Augsburg Confession (1559). The same can be
seen in the important correspondence of the scholars of Wüttemberg with
the Patriarch of Constantinople Jeremiah II (1573-1581). These Lutheran
theologians sent the Greek translation of the Augsburg Confession to the
Ecumenical Patriarch, asking for his opinion. The Patriarch responded
with three letters. Unfortunately, during this correspondence, both
sides did not understand each other, and therefore it did not lead to
any fruitful result. Seeing that the Lutherans did not understand any of
the theological positions of the Orthodox, Jeremiah interrupted this
theological dialogue by stating in his third response to the Lutherans:
“Continue your path, and from now, do not write to us anymore about
dogmas, but only by friendship”. Thus, both sides did not condemn each
other and remained friends.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the Ecumenical
Patriarch Joachim III raised the question of ecumenical relations of the
Orthodox Church with Western Christians in his famous encyclical
(1902): “It is, moreover, pleasing to God, and in accordance with the
Gospel, to seek the mind of the most holy autocephalous Churches on the
subject of our present and future relations with the two great growths
of Christianity, viz. the Western Church and the Church of the
Protestants”. This encyclical initiated the preparation of the Holy and
Great Council of the Orthodox Church, and led at its first stage of
preparation, to the convocation of Pan-orthodox conferences of Rhodes
(1961-1964) which agreed that the Orthodox Church should engage in
bilateral dialogues with the other Christian Churches. Since these
Pan-orthodox conferences, the Orthodox Church has started several
bilateral dialogues in which representatives from every local
autocephalous Orthodox Church have been participating. The dialogue with
the Lutherans is being conducted with the Lutheran World Federation
since the first meeting in 1981 in Espoo (Finland).
Having this in mind, it is clear that the Lund commemoration, seen in
the eyes of an Orthodox, could only be welcomed, since it contributes
to the rapprochement of the divided Christians on their path towards
unity. The process of “purification of memories” among Western
Christians may thus lead from “conflict to communion”. Perhaps not a
full Eucharistic communion, but nonetheless towards a mutual
understanding, which may help for a more global communion, East and
West. This is our Orthodox prayer “for the union of all” in a friendship
that has never ceased with all Western Christianity.