Feast of the Divine Body of Christ

On the Thursday after the Feast of All Saints (Sunday after Pentecost) many Byzantine Churches celebrate the Feast of the Divine Body and Blood of our Lord. While this Feast has its origin in the West, where it is known as Corpus Christi, devotion to our Lord in the Reserved Sacrament also grew in importance in the East. By the eighteenth century, the Melkite and Ukrainian Greek Catholic traditions had firmly fixed the celebration as a joyous time of adoration and devotion to our Lord's Incarnation and the great Mystery of His Body and Blood which we receive at every Divine Liturgy. In current practice, it is celebrated on the aforementioned Thursday or the Sunday after All Saints.

Since the Second Vatican Council, some in the Byzantine Churches have downplayed the importance of the Feast, even going so far as claiming that it should be suppressed as a "Roman innovation". This reflects and unfortunate misunderstanding of the Eastern mind and history. While it is wholly appropriate to embrace the fullness of our Eastern Tradition, we must be careful to distinguish between Western-influenced accretions and organic Byzantine developments that are coherent with our faith and customs, even if we find no counterpart to them in the practices of our Separated Brethren. The historic lateness of the development of a particular devotion or celebration is no argument against its orthodoxy. If it were, we would have to reconsider cherished customs such as the Iconistasion, administering Holy Communion via the spoon, Tabernacles on the Altar, etc..

The Church is One in confessing the real Sacramental presence of our Lord Jesus Christ in the sacrifice of the Divine Liturgy. The prayers, ritual actions, and devotions of the Divine Liturgy clearly indicate that the Bread and Wine become no less than the Body and Blood of our Lord. Iconography depicts the reality of this Mystical Gift in many ways, including our Lord situated in the Communion Chalice. St John of Damascus, as one example among many, discusses the reality of our Lord's Sacramental presence in his masterful refutation of the iconoclasts. It is meet to cherish this beautiful celebration.

Here are the Aposticha in Tone Six (Plagal of the Second) of the Great Vespers and the Troparion and Kontakion for the Feast.

Heavenly Bread who so generously satisfy with the wealth of Your goods those who hunger for justice: bestow Your grace upon us who now adore You, and save our souls!

Verse: Taste and see how good the Lord is; blessed are those who trust in Him.

Divine Food, Wheat of the Elect who feed with heavenly Grace the souls of those who receive You: inflame our hearts and spirits with the Fire of Your Divine Love for the salvation of our souls.

Verse: I will take the chalice of Salvation and call upon the Name of the Lord.

Most Holy Wine who nurture virgins by pouring the grace of sanctification upon the souls of those who partake of You: cleanse our hearts of every sin, make them holy, and save our souls.

Verse: Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.

Lamb of God who take away the sins of the world, You move the hearts of all the faithful: they adore You deeply and reverently as they look upon You lifted up in the hands of Your holy priests. Together with the angels, they offer a hymn of praise to Your glory, crying out: O Lord, Life Itself, eternally living with Your Father and Your Holy Spirit: glory to You!

Verse: Now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

All the virgins come to you, Holy City of undisturbed purity, whose holy womb contained the King of Kings, from whose blood the Holy Spirit wove the porphyry robe of Christ Emmanuel, the One we now adore hidden in the Mystic Bread. O you who gave birth to the Incarnate God, intercede with Him for the salvation of our souls!

Troparion of the Divine Body in Tone One

Christ, having loved His own and loved them until the end, gave them His Body and His Blood as food and drink. Therefore, let us offer them adoration and say with fear: Glory to Your Presence, O Christ! Glory to Your Compassion! Glory to Your Condescension, for You alone are the Lover of Mankind!

Kontakion of the Divine Body in Tone Two

O Christ, do not turn Your Face away from me when I partake of the Bread which is Your Body and the Wine which is Your Blood. O Lord, let my sharing in these august Mysteries be not for my judgment or condemnation, but for my eternal and everlasting life.

May the Mystical Presence of our Lord in His Body and Blood lead us all in humility to repentance, forgiveness, and the Unity to which He calls us. Amen.

Holy Father Praises Vitality of the Melkite Church

Holy Father Praises Vitality of the Melkite Church
2008-05-08
VATICAN CITY, 8 MAY 2008 (VIS) - This morning in the Vatican, Benedict XVI received 300 members of the Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarchate, headed by His Beatitude, Patriarch Gregorios III Laham, who are on pilgrimage to Rome.

The Pope praised "the vitality of the Melkite Church, despite the difficulties of the region's social and political situation", affirming that "on drawing near to the beginning of the year dedicated to St. Paul, I cannot forget that the seat of your patriarchy is established in the city of Damascus, on the road to which the apostle lived the event that transformed his existence and opened the doors of Christianity to all the nations".

The Holy Father used the occasion of the Pauline Year to invite the patriarch to carry out "an intense pastoral outreach" to awaken in the faithful "a new impetus to know ever more closely the person of Christ, thanks to a renewed reading of Paul's writings". This focus," he emphasized, "will also guarantee a thriving future for the Melkite Church".

"In order to ensure the evangelical dynamism and unity of the communities, as well as the proper functioning of the ecclesial work in the patriarchal Churches," Benedict XVI observed, "the role of the Bishops' Synod is of primary importance. That is why it is necessary, every time the right allows for it, above all when it has to do with questions related to those same bishops, to give this venerable institution and not only the Permanent Synod, the standing it merits".

Referring to ecumenical outreach, the Pope recalled that "the commitment to the search for unity of all Jesus' disciples is an urgent obligation" and therefore "everything possible must be done to tear down the walls of division and mistrust that prevent us from achieving it. Nevertheless, we cannot lose sight of the fact that the search for unity is a task that concerns not only a particular Church but the entire Church, in respect of its nature".

"I also appreciate," he added, "your good relations with the Muslims (.) as well as your efforts to resolve, with a sincere and objective spirit of fraternal dialogue, problems that may arise. (.) In line with Vatican Council II, the Melkite Church has sincerely sought mutual understanding and the promotion and a shared defense of social justice, moral values, peace, and freedom with the Muslims to the benefit of all".

On achieving its mission in the troubled and at times dramatic context of the Middle East," he concluded, "the Church finds itself faced with situations where politics plays a role that is not indifferent to its life. That is why it is important to maintain contacts with the political authorities and institutions and the different political parties. Nevertheless, it does not fall to the clergy to dedicate themselves to a political life. That is the duty of the laity. The Church, however, should propose the light of the Gospel to all so that all may dedicate themselves to serve the common good and so that justice may always prevail, so that the path to peace for all peoples in this much loved region may be opened".


AC/PATRIARCHY GREEK MELKITE/GREGORIOS IIIVIS 080508 (515)

True Theology

H/T to Per Christum and Eirenikon for this inspiring piece.

“Humble and faithful witness to the undivided Church”
March 20, 2008 by eirenikon

I do not deny that there are differences between the Churches, but I say that we must change our way of approaching them. And the question of method is in the first place a psychological, or rather a spiritual problem. For centuries there have been conversations between theologians, and they have done nothing except to harden their positions. I have a whole library about it. And why? Because they spoke in fear and distrust of one another, with the desire to defend themselves and to defeat the others. Theology was no longer a pure celebration of the mystery of God. It became a weapon. God himself became a weapon!

I repeat: I do not ignore these difficulties. But I am trying to change the spiritual atmosphere. The restoration of mutual love will enable us to see the questions in a totally different light. We must express the truth which is dear to us – because it protects and celebrates the immensity of the life which is in Christ – we must express it, not so as to repulse the other, so as to force him to admit that he is beaten, but so as to share it with him; and also for its own sake, for its beauty, as a celebration of truth to which we invite our brothers. At the same time we must be ready to listen. For Christians, truth is not opposed to life or love; it expresses their fullness. First of all, we must free these words, these words which tend to collide, from the evil past, from all political, national and cultural hatreds which have nothing to do with Christ. Then we must root them in the deep life of the Church, in the experience of the Resurrection which it is their mission to serve. We must always weigh our words in the balance of life and death and Resurrection.

Those who accuse me of sacrificing Orthodoxy to a bind obsession with love, have a very poor conception of the truth. They make it into a system which they possess, which reassures them, when what it really is, is the living glorification of the living God, with all the risks involved in creative life. And we don’t possess God; it is He who holds us and fills us with His presence in proportion to our humility and love. Only by love can we glorify the God of love, only by giving and sharing and sacrificing oneself can one glorify the God who, to save us, sacrificed himself and went to death, the death of the cross.

But I would go further. Those who reproach me with sacrificing truth to love have no confidence in the truth. They shut it up, they lock it up like an unfaithful woman. But I say, if the truth is the truth, we must not be afraid for it; let us give it, let us share it, let us show it in its fullness, let us welcome all that there is of light and love in the experience of our brethren. If we continue in this attitude, then truth will become clear of itself, it will conquer all limitations and inadequacies from within, on the basis of the common mystery of the Church. Let us enlarge our hearts, “let each one of us, as the apostle says, look not to our own things, but rather to the things of others” (Phil. 2:4). We have a sure criterion – life in Christ. Faced with a partial expression of the truth, let us ask in what measure it conveys the life in Christ, or in what measure it is liable to compromise it.

Orthodoxy, if it goes back to the sources of its great tradition, will be the humble and faithful witness to the undivided Church. The Orthodox Churches, in coming together themselves in mutual respect and love, will set a movement of brotherhood going throughout the Christian world, giving the example of a free communion of sister Churches, united by the same sacraments and the same faith. As to the Orthodox faith, centered as it is on liturgical praise and worship, and on holiness, it will bring the criterion of spiritual experience to ecumenical dialogue, a criterion which will allow us to disentangle partial truths from their limitations so that they may be reconciled in a higher plenitude of truth.

But we Orthodox: are we worthy of Orthodoxy? Up till the efforts we have made in recent years, what kind of example have our Churches given? We are united in faith and united in the chalice, but we have become strangers to one another, sometimes rivals. And our great tradition, the Fathers, Palamas, the Philokalia: is it living and creative in us? If we are satisfied to repeat our formulas, hardening them against our fellow Christians, then our inheritance will become something dead. It is sharing, humility, reconciliation which makes us truly Orthodox, holding the faith not for ourselves – if we did that we should simply be affirming yet one more historic confession of faith – but for the union of all, as the selfless witnesses of the undivided Church.

– Athenagoras I, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople (1886-1972)

I spoke too soon...

Unfortunately, it looks like troubles for the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem aren't over after all. The Jerusalem Post reports that Israel's High Court of Justice has frozen the recognition of Theophilos III as Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem. The report gives the details and also exemplifies some of the ecclesial-political problems that plague the Orthodox Church.

The whole situation is complicated by the Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulchre, a mainly ethnic Greek order whose members exclusively choose the Patriarch for a mainly ethnic Palestinian Orthodox population.

Strangers in their own lands

Over at De unione ecclesiarum, Peter Gilbert references an article in the British journal the Tablet on Greek Catholicism and some of the troubles Greek Catholics face. The article, by Marcus Tanner, is entitled "Outsiders in their own land". (Note that the link to the article often leads to a "log-in to read page" but occasionally takes you straight to the article. Hence, reading it from Peter Gilbert's blog may be the easier path.)

Presented here are a few excerpts (and, Lord, forgive me, a couple of my comments):

“It’s difficult to understand if you’re not from here,” the archbishop says, pointing to the nearby tower of the ruined Augustinian abbey, where Mass was first said in the fourteenth century. “We are here in Greece, we feel Greek, are Greek, but among other Greeks there is this strong identification of Greek and Orthodox. As a result, when I take part in official ceremonies, they say ‘He’s not a bishop! He is not Orthodox.’”

I have experienced this on many occasions in the US. For example, recently my wife and I met an OCA priest and his wife. We chatted briefly and went our separate ways. Later, Khourieh noted that the priest held out his hand in the manner traditional to receive a reverential kiss. She obliged as this is a custom she routinely practices with clergy (except yours truly....). She asked me if Matushka had kissed mine. No; I hadn't thought about it at the time, but she had not. Then, looking back on the conversation, I realized there had been a slight familiarity. Also, when I had approached Batushka for the embrace of peace he had stuck out his hand for a handshake. Clearly, to them I was not a priest and we were to show respect to them with no reciprocation. C'est la vie! It's a small thing, but indicative of how we "Uniates" are often treated by our separated brethren.
...

As the Athens-based journalist Helena Smith wrote some years ago, many Greeks “still relate to the notorious declaration of the Byzantine commander Loukas Notaras (uttered days before the sacking of Constantinople in 1453) that it would be better to see the Turkish turban in the city than a cardinal’s mitre”. That mood, stiffened by the religious dimension to the Balkan wars of the 1990s, has hardly softened at all. Smith told me: “This is still a country that is very ethnocentric, where minorities are seen as a threat to the state and where to be 100 per cent Greek you must be Orthodox.”

This is endemic to Orthodoxy. While there is much talk about the Unity of the Faith, there is a tendency for many to see their jurisdiction, and the ethnicity that grounds it, as the superior others within Orthodoxy and even more so regarding Catholics in general, and Eastern Catholic in particular.
...

Back in his office, the archbishop concurred. “We have got to become really Catholic, meaning universal,” he said. “We were never really considered true Greeks anyway. Now we have to be brothers to all those coming from outside. It is the future of the Church - no Greek, no Jew, but all one in Christ. That could be something to be proud of.”

This is precisely why I crossed the Tiber. There is a fullness of Catholic Faith within the Catholic Church. By this, I mean that "the Faith of the Orthodox" (as the Synodikon of Nicaea II refers to it) only attainable in union with Rome. My faith, worship, and discipline are the same as when I was an Orthodox priest, but the fullness of that Faith is more profoundly present through communion with the Pope of Rome. This may scandalize Orthodox, and in fact probably lies much behind the manifest desire of Orthodox for Eastern Catholics to cease to exist.

May our Lord bring unity to His Church and unite all Catholic and Orthodox Christians with peace, health, safety and length of days. May our Lady the Theotokos through her intercessions convict the hearts of all of us in the Churches of God whose hardness prevents that unity for which our Lord prayed. May the confidence of hope remove all prejudice, the fruits of love melt all animosity, and the Faith that saves bless us all with eternal life to the glory of God the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and always and unto ages of ages. Amen.

The Blogging Cardinal is also doing YouTube!

Check out his little corner of the YouTube world here.

Inter-Orthodox Disagreements Impede Dialogue

Moscow Patriarchate Quits Orthodox-Catholic Talks
Churches Issue Document After Meeting Concludes

RAVENNA, Italy, OCT. 15, 2007 (Zenit.org).- The Catholic-Orthodox panel that met to discuss the sacramental nature of the Church approved a joint document, but their meeting was marked by the withdrawal of the Moscow patriarchate from the discussions.

The week long 10th plenary assembly of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between Catholics and Orthodox ended Sunday. The group studied the "ecclesiological and canonical consequences of the sacramental nature of the Church -- conciliarity and synodality in the Church" and agreed upon a joint document, the Vatican reported today.

A communiqué from the panel affirmed that "the document offers a solid basis for the future work of the commission," noting that the work on the statement had already begun in September 2006.

However, a communiqué from the commission, made public at the end of the conference, explained that the head of the delegation from the Patriarchate of Moscow, Orthodox Bishop Hilarion Alfeyev of Vienna and Austria, presented his Church's decision to withdraw from the discussions.

He said his Church was withdrawing because "of the presence thereon of delegates from the Church of Estonia, which has been declared 'autonomous' by the Ecumenical Patriarchate, a status not recognized by the Patriarchate of Moscow," the Vatican press office reported.

This happened, the report continued, "despite the fact that the Ecumenical Patriarchate, with the agreement of all the Orthodox members present, had offered a compromise solution, that of recording the non-recognition by the Patriarchate of Moscow of the autonomous Church of Estonia."

Russia-Rome

A statement from the Russian Orthodox delegation said: "Before leaving the meeting, Bishop Hilarion addressed members of the Mixed Commission. In his address he emphasized that the delegation of the Moscow Patriarchate is unable to continue its participation in the meeting because it does not recognize 'the Estonian Apostolic Church,' which was invited by the Patriarchate of Constantinople […] Bishop Hilarion also underlined that the Moscow Patriarchate attaches great importance to the dialogue with the Roman Catholic Church, and expressed his regret" at the impossibility of the Moscow delegation's participation in the meeting.

The Interfax news service reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke today of the relationship between Catholics, Orthodox and Protestants at the Petersburg Dialogue forum in Wiesbaden, Germany.

"The Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant Churches have certain differences, yet, as far as I understood from meetings with the Pontiff and our patriarch, they think alike on fundamental issues and values," he said. "I did not see any difference in their attitudes to Christian and moral values. That is the foundation for debates."

The Vatican announced that the theme of the next meeting of the Joint International Commission will be the role of the Bishop of Rome in the communion of the Church in the first millennium. The date and location are to be announced soon.

The commission statement said its members "strongly commend the continuing work of the dialogue to the prayers of the faithful."

ARCHBISHOP CORDES TO MEET PATRIARCH ALEXIS II IN MOSCOW

VATICAN CITY, OCT 10, 2007 (VIS) - According to a communique made public at midday today, Archbishop Paul Josef Cordes, president of the Pontifical Council "Cor Unum," is due to meet with Patriarch Alexis II in Moscow.

"The visit comes in the context of a series of meetings that the president of 'Cor Unum' will make in the Russian Federation between October 15 and 21," reads the communique. "From October 15 to 17 he will be at Novosibirsk, the capital of the region of Siberia where, accompanied by Bishop Joseph Werth, he will visit Caritas, the Franciscan school and the Sisters of Mother Teresa of Calcutta. In this area the Catholic Church has distinguished itself in recent years for the increase of charitable initiatives throughout the territory.

"From October 18 to 21, Archbishop Cordes - as a guest of Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz - will participate in the work of Caritas groups throughout the Russian Federation. In Russia, this sector is at the basis of much fruitful collaboration with the Orthodox Church. The meeting is particularly significant because it is taking place a year and a half after the publication of Pope Benedict XVI's first Encyclical, which was dedicated to charity. It will, then, be an opportunity to verify how 'Deus caritas est' has inspired charitable commitment in this vast country.

"The talks with bishops and volunteers of Russian Caritas on the influence of 'Deus caritas est,' the visit to Siberia and the meeting with Alexis III, make this trip an important stage of the mission of the Pontifical Council 'Cor Unum'."
OP/MEETING MOSCOW PATRIARCH/CORDESVIS 071010 (280)

CALL FOR FULL COMMUNION

BETWEEN CATHOLIC AND ORTHODOX

VATICAN CITY, OCT 10, 2007 (VIS) - At the end of today's general audience in St. Peter's Square, the Pope recalled how "the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between Catholics and Orthodox is currently holding its 10th plenary assembly in Ravenna, Italy, where it is deliberating upon a theological subject of particular ecumenical interest: the ecclesiological and canonical consequences of the sacramental nature of the Church - ecclesial communion, conciliarity and authority."

"I ask you to join me in my prayer," said the Holy Father, "that this important gathering may help us to progress towards full communion between Catholics and Orthodox, and that we may soon be able to share the one chalice of the Lord."
AG/APPEAL CHRISTIAN UNITY/...VIS 071010 (130)

Ravenna: Dialogue Between Catholics and Orthodox

VATICAN CITY, OCT 8, 2007 (VIS) - From October 8 to 15, the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between Catholics and Orthodox is holding its 10th plenary assembly in Ravenna, Italy, according to a communique issued by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.

This session is the second to be held since the reactivation of dialogue during the 2006 plenary in Belgrade. The commission was established in 1979 by Pope John Paul II and Ecumenical Patriarch Dimitrios I, and held its first assembly in Patmos-Rhodes in 1980.

The document to be analyzed by the commission at its current gathering is entitled "the ecclesiological and canonical consequences of the sacramental nature of the Church - conciliarity and sinodality in the Church." The study of this document, the communique reads, "was part of the program agreed at Patmos-Rhodes in 1980" but was "suspended to make way for questions concerning the relationship of Orthodoxy with the Oriental Catholic Churches following the collapse of the communist regimes in Eastern Europe. With the plenary of Belgrade, the commission reactivated its normal theological agenda."

The commission is made up of 60 members, 30 Catholics and 30 Orthodox, and is jointly presided by Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, and His Excellency Ioannis (Zizioulas), metropolitan of Pergamo. The Catholic members are cardinals, archbishops, bishops, priests and lay experts in various fields. The orthodox members represent - in the order indicated by Fanar - the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria, the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch, the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, the Patriarchate of Moscow, the Orthodox Patriarchate of Serbia, the Orthodox Patriarchate of Romania, the Orthodox Patriarchate of Bulgaria, the Orthodox Church of Georgia, the Orthodox Church of Cyprus, the Orthodox Church of Greece, the Orthodox Church of Poland, the Orthodox Church of Albania, the Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and of Slovakia, the Orthodox Church of Finland, and the Orthodox Church of Estonia.

VIS 071008

UPDATE: Russians leave ecumenical talks in rift with Constantinople

Ravenna, Oct. 10, 2007 (CWNews.com) - Russian Orthodox delegates have walked out of a joint session of Catholic and Orthodox theologians, highlighting the sharp disagreements among the world's Orthodox leaders.

A delegation from Moscow left the meeting, being held in Ravenna, Italy, after learning that a delegate from the Estonian Apostolic Church would be included in the ecumenical talks. The Estonian Apostolic Church has gained canonical recognition from the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, but the Russian Orthodox Church, which still claims authority over the Orthodox community in Estonia, disputes that status.

The dispute calls attention to enduring conflicts over authority in the Orthodox world, with the Moscow patriarchate resisting the power of Constantinople. Although the Russian Orthodox Church is by far the largest of the Orthodox churches, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople has traditionally been recognized as the "first among equals" of the world's Orthodox leaders.

For the full update from Catholic World News, click here.

One might add that this trouble, which nearly led to a world-wide schism in the Orthodox Church in the 1990's, is indicative of the authority vacuum at the center of Orthodoxy, unless one takes into account the Successor of St Peter.

Patriarch awards Vatican representative for strengthening Orthodox-Catholic relations

Alexy II awards Vatican representative in Russia an order of merit for strengthening Orthodox-Catholic relations

Moscow, September 4, Interfax - Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia has awarded Archbishop Antonio Mennini, the Holy See representative in Russia, the Order of the Holy Prince Daniel of Moscow, third degree.

Archbishop Mennini is thus awarded ‘in recognition of his efforts for establishing good relations between the Russian Orthodox and the Roman Catholic Churches and on the occasion of his 60th birthday’, the official site of the Moscow Patriarchate has reported on Tuesday.

The award was present to the archbishop on September 3 at the apostolic nunciate in Moscow by Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, vice-chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate department for external church relations, and Rev. Igor Vyzhanov, DECR secretary for inter-Christian relations.

Mgr Mennini was appointed the Vatican’s representative in Russia in November 2002 by the late Pope John Paul II.

Archbishop Mennini was born on September 2, 1947, in Rome. On December 14, 1974, he was ordained priest, and in April 1981 he entered upon the Holy See’s diplomatic service.

He served in the Vatican’s embassies in Uganda and Turkey and later in the Vatican’s state secretariat. On July 1, 2000, the Pope of Rome appointed him his representative in Bulgaria and in September of the same year he was elevated to the rank of archbishop.

Moscow Patriarch Speaks on Meeting with Pope and Latin Mass

Interfax reports that Patriarch Alexy of Moscow again addressed the possibility of meeing with Benedict of Rome. Of course, the condition is that Greek Catholics cease to exist and all Roman priests and congregations do everything possible to be invisible lest Moscow have to deal with one Russian choosing Rome over Russian Orthodoxy. Meanwhile, Orthodox Churches flourish in Western Europe and North America.

Meeting with Pope possible on certain terms - Alexy II

Rome, August 30, Interfax - Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia welcomes Pope Benedict XVI's initiative to promote inter-church dialogue, but said some terms must be fulfilled before a personal meeting with the pope could take place.

"Pope Benedict has said on many occasions that he wants to promote dialogue and cooperation with the Orthodox Churches, and this is a positive occurrence," Alexy II said in an interview published by the Italian newspaper Il Giornale.

A meeting with the pope must be thoroughly prepared, he said.

"It must not be merely an occasion for a few photos or for an appearance before TV cameras. It must strengthen ties between our two Churches," Alexy II said.

"Even now, some of the Catholic bishops and missionaries see Russia as a territory of missionary activities. But Russia, Holy Rus, which has been permeated with faith for centuries and the Orthodox Church, guarded with God's blessing, is not a place for missionary activities," he said.

Alexy II said that it is the first issue to be settled before organizing a meeting.

The second one is the activities of the Greek Catholics Church. "We are concerned about the Uniates as a phenomenon and we can see this tendency even in the regions where it was not common - in eastern Ukraine, Byelorussia, Kazakhstan and even in Russia," the patriarch said.

"When these issues are settled an opportunity will emerge for a meeting, and it will have sense then," Alexy II said.

On the other hand, Sayidna Alexy speaks positively on the issue of the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite. (Interesting that so many Roman Rite Bishops aren't as positive.)

Alexy II greets Catholics as they reintroduce Latin Mass

Rome, August 30, Interfax - Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia has greeted the recent decree of Pope Benedict XVI providing more freedom to celebrate the ancient Latin Mass.

The motu proprio Summorum Pontificum that provides more freedom to use the pre-Vatican II Missal ‘is a positive fact,’ Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia said to comment on the Roman Catholic Church reintroducing her ancient liturgical form.

‘We strongly adhere to the tradition. Without being faithful to her liturgy the Russian Orthodox Church would have failed to survive persecutions in 1920s and 1930s,’ the Russian primate told the Italian daily Il Giornale a few days ago after celebration liturgy in the Cathedral of the Dormition in the Kremlin.

The patriarch opined that the pope’s decision might contribute to establishing closer links with the Orthodox Churches, the daily said.

The obligatory Latin Mass was abolished by the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) when the Roman Catholic Church legalized liturgical use of modern languages hoping to attract more people. But the results were far from ideal, and the reform led to a schism as Archbishop Marcel Lefevre refused to accept it an faced excommunication in 1988.

I'll leave to others the misinformation about the Council and the history of hermeneutic of discontinuity.

More on the Pope and the Patriarch

Benedict XVI Sends Letter to Alexy II

VATICAN CITY, AUG. 20, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Cardinal Roger Etchegaray delivered a letter written by Benedict XVI to Orthodox Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow, but says "trust must be built" before the two leaders can meet.

The retired president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace said this on Vatican Radio upon returning from his trip to Russia. He visited Siberia, Irkutsk and Novosibirsk, and celebrated Mass on the feast of the Assumption in the Catholic cathedral in Moscow.

The cardinal said of Alexy II that "in the last 30 years we have worked a lot together for Europe. I can say that I feel very close to him: I consider him as a brother."

"We talk as friends, and among other things I delivered to him a personal message sent by Benedict XVI. It was a message that Alexy II appreciated very much. All this demonstrates the fluid relationship that exists between us two," Cardinal Etchegaray added.

The 84-year-old cardinal said that a possible meeting between the Holy Father and the Russian patriarch has been "talked about for a long time. I am sure that the patriarch and Benedict XVI, just as Pope John Paul II before him, sincerely and ardently desire this encounter, but no one knows when it will take place."

"No one can say," he confirmed, "because for both men, the greatest concern is that it be an encounter in truth and not a mediagenic spectacle, so that it can simply be said that the met."

The prelate said the desire of both is "that the meeting be well-prepared and that it take place in the best conditions of truth."

"Many times," added Cardinal Etchegaray, "the media exaggerate events, simplify or idealize the reality, which, it must not be forgotten, is normally quite complicated."

The prelate said he spoke with the patriarch about "the numerous projects that Catholics and Russian Orthodox run together, and it is impressive all that is done in various ways: It is a great novelty. Therefore it is necessary to not speak so much of the date and time of the meeting: Trust must be built."

ZE07082008 - 2007-08-20

Memory Eternal

The Guardian (UK) reports the falling asleep of Romanian Orthodox Patriarch Teoctist. While my own spiritual journey led to 'swimming the Tiber', I join with all in offering prayers for the repose of his soul and for the orphaned Romanian Orthodox Church.

May his memory be eternal!

May the Romanian Orthodox Church be guided by the Spirit to a new beginning to the glory of God and the salvation of souls!

Head of Romanian Church Dies

Monday July 30, 2007 6:01 PM

By ALISON MUTLER

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) - The head of the Romanian Orthodox Church, who made history when he invited the late John Paul II to his Orthodox country in 1999 but was criticized for being too close to former Communists, died Monday. He was 92.

Patriarch Teoctist died of a heart attack following surgery on his prostate gland earlier Monday, doctors at the Fundeni hospital told Realitatea TV.

Teoctist was appointed to head the church in November 1986, but briefly stepped down after anti-communist protesters in 1989 said he had been too conciliatory toward former dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. He had refused to condemn Ceausescu's destruction of Orthodox churches in Bucharest. He was reinstated a few weeks later.

Although he was often criticized for failing to take a stand on thorny issues such as the rights of the Eastern Rite Catholic Church in Romania, the patriarch won praise when in 1999, the late Pope John Paul II visited Romania at Teoctist's invitation.

It was the first invitation extended by an Orthodox Church leader to a Catholic pope since the churches split in the Great Schism of 1054. The two leaders called for the healing of divisions within Christianity.

Teoctist also won the respect of Romanians after he confessed that he had felt abandoned by God for years - from the time when he briefly resigned as patriarch until the pope's visit.

Teoctist was also criticized for opposing the investigation of clerics who were believed to have collaborated with the Communist Securitate secret police. When communism ended, there was no purge within the church and no acknowledgment of the extent of clerics' collaboration.

In 2001, Securitate files discovered by a historian said that Teoctist had supported the fascist Legionnaire movement and was one of several priests who in 1941 helped ransack a synagogue in Bucharest. The church said the information in the files was fabricated.

Born into a poor family in northeastern Romania in 1915, Teoctist was the tenth of 11 children. He became a monk when he was 20.

Earlier this month, Teoctist condemned a Vatican document in which Pope Benedict XVI reasserted the primacy of the Roman Catholic Church, describing it as ``brutal'' and saying it made inter-church dialogue difficult.

Turkish Oppression of Ecumenical Patriarchate Continues

AsiaNews reports more of the Turkish government's oppression of the Patriarchate of Constantinople.

TURKEY:Nationalists force the cancellation of a concert wanted by the Patriarch of Constantinople

Following pressure form extremist groups, the Turkish authorities revoke permission for an event which was due to close the II Conference of Orthodox Youth tomorrow. “Disapproval” expressed by the academic and diplomatic world: a “damaging” move for the image of the country.

Istanbul (AsiaNews) – Yet more tensions between the Turkish Authorities and the Ecumenical Patriarchate: today permission was revoked for the concert of the famous Greek singer song writer Dallara, also well known in Turkey, which was to have closet the II Conference of Orthodox Youth organised by the Patriarchate in Istanbul. The move comes in the wake of pressure exerted by Turkish nationalists strongly opposed to the initiative.

The diplomatic and academic world describes the move as “damaging to the country’s image” and expresses their “great disapproval”. Conference participant’s number one thousand, gathered in Istanbul since July 12th, while a further 2 thousand had been invited to the concert among them civil authorities and embassy representatives. The event was to have taken place in the historic Istanbul castle, Rumeeli Hisari.

Recent weeks have seen an increased pressure against the Ecumenical Patriarchate on the part of the Turkish authorities: June 26th the Supreme Court contested the title “ecumenical” of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, defining it simply as a “Turkish” body, and spiritual guide of the Greek-orthodox minority in the country. According to the court, Bartholomew I can no longer use the title “Ecumenical Patriarch” for the Orthodox world.

The full respect of minorities and religious freedom is one of the principal themes on the agenda in negotiations for Ankara’s entrance to the European Union. The question of the recognition of the juridical character of the non Muslim communities is the first which needs to be addressed in order to insure that which is still not possible in the country today, such as for example the formation of religious and the acquisition of property. (NT)

Touchstone Magazine on the CDF Church Document

Touchstone Magazine has a short analysis of the CDF document on the Church and its reception. The piece is by S. M. Hutchens. Below are a few excerpts.

... Briefly put, the document states that the Eastern churches (meaning for the most part Eastern Orthodoxy), having a valid sacramental priesthood, thus valid sacraments, while defective in regard of lacking full communion with the See of Peter, are to be considered churches, while the Christian communities born of the Reformation, lacking a valid sacramental priesthood, cannot be called “churches” in the proper sense.
...

With regard to the communion that is the Church, Orthodoxy is deficient, but not so deficient as to withdraw the title of Church from its communions or Christian from its members. Protestant churches, measured by the same rod, are severely deficient, so much so that these religious communities are not churches properly speaking, and their members are only Christians (we must assume) to the degree that their churches are churches. If I read Lumen Gentium aright, no Catholic is obliged to call a Protestant a Christian, although he may, to do him honor—which I believe John Paul II consistently did. I will note that in general, Protestants have historically taken pretty much the same view of Catholics. Which is to say that nothing has changed--the whole point of the new Vatican document, which was clearly meant only to clarify something that should have been clear to any careful student of the matter in the first place.

The full article may be found here.

Protestants Criticize, Orthodox Welcome Vatican Document

Catholic World News has posted this basic summary of positions from Protestant and Orthodox quarters regarding the CDF document. As the previous post on Moscow's reaction shows, the Orthodox position is actually somewhat complex.

Geneva/Moscow, Jul. 11, 2007 (CWNews.com) - Leading Protestant figures have criticized the new Vatican document affirming the central role of the Catholic Church, but the Russian Orthodox Church has welcomed the document as an "honest" statement that "shows how close or, on the contrary, how divided we are."

Rev. Setri Nyomi, the general secretary of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, protested the Vatican statement in a letter to Cardinal Walter Kasper, the president of the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity. Rev. Nyomi said that the new Vatican statement, which says that Protestant groups are not "churches" in the proper sense, "makes us question the seriousness with which the Roman Catholic Church takes its dialogues with Reformed family and other families of the Church."

The World Council of Churches (WCC) also expressed disagreement with the Vatican. In its own statement addressing the role of the Catholic Church, the WCC argued that the term "catholic" should be understood to mean "universal." In that sense, the WCC argued, "Each church is the Church catholic and not simply a part of it. Each church is the Church catholic, but not the whole of it."

The Russian Orthodox Church, however, welcomed the Vatican satement. "For an honest theological dialogue to happen, one should have a clear view of the position of the other side," said Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk, the leading ecumenical official of the Moscow patriarchate.

Metropolitan Kirill observed that he saw "nothing new" doctrinally in the statement released on july 10 by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. He argued that "everything contained in the Catholic document rightfully applies to the Orthodox Church," since the Orthodox Church has preserved apostolic succession.

The Vatican document acknowledged that the Orthodox churches are sister churches with valid sacraments, but added that in the Orthodox world, "of the division between Christians, the fullness of universality, which is proper to the Church governed by the Successor of Peter and the bishops in communion with him, is not fully realized in history."

Original link found here.

Moscow Orthodox Responses to CDF Church Document

Zenit provides an article on responses to the CDF document on the Catholic understanding of "Church" by Bishops of the Moscow Patriarchate.

Here are a few snippets:

VIENNA, Austria, JULY 11, 2007 (Zenit.org).- The breach of Eucharistic communion between East and West is a common tragedy, and the quest for unity should be of equal importance to both, said Bishop Hilarion.

...

The document, Bishop Alfeev said, "brings nothing new in comparison with previous documents of similar kind, such as 'Dominus Iesus.'"

...

"The Orthodox also believe that apostolic succession and the sacraments are essential marks of the Church.

...

Bishop Alfeev explained: "According to the document, 'communion with the Catholic Church, the visible head of which is the Bishop of Rome and the Successor of Peter, is not some external complement to a particular Church but rather one of its internal constitutive principles.'

...

"We, the Orthodox, believe that, being not in communion with them, the Roman Catholic Church 'lacks something in its condition.'"

...

"The restoration of communion with the Orthodox Church must be as important for the Catholic Church as the restoration of communion with the Church of Rome for the Orthodox Church," he said.

"The breach of Eucharistic communion between East and West is a common tragedy, affecting both the Catholic and the Orthodox Churches," Bishop Alfeev concluded. "The quest for unity should be of equal importance to both Churches."

...

Orthodox Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, who heads the Moscow Patriarchate Department for External Church Relations, said to journalists in Moscow that the document from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith can help to achieve unity, precisely because "for an honest theological dialogue to happen, one should have a clear view of the position of the other side."

He added, "It helps understand how different we are."

The full article may be found here.

A Lamp Light for the East

Prefect Lights a Lamp for Eastern Churches

2007-07-04
VATICAN CITY, JULY 3, 2007 (Zenit.org).- The recently appointed prefect of the Congregation for Eastern Churches lit a lamp in St. Peter's Basilica to symbolize the Church's concern for Christians in the East.

Archbishop Leonardo Sandri lit the flame in front of an icon of the Mother of God.

Archbishop Sandri said the flame is "a sign of our full attention toward our brethren of the East, who suffer daily from the consequences of war, division, hatred and attempted bombings," Vatican Radio reported.

He also said the gesture was a call to prayer for those involved in the spiral of violence that damages personal and social coexistence.
ZE07070307 - 2007-07-03

Yet Another Victory for Freedom in Turkey

Turkish court rules out international role for Orthodox Patriarch

Ankara, Jun. 27, 2007 (CWNews.com) - A court in Turkey has ruled that Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople does not have the right to the title "Ecumenical Patriarch." Patriarch Bartholomew has legal standing only as the head of his local Orthodox community in Turkey, the court ruled.

The Turkish court ruling will not affect the Patriarch's standing in the eyes of the world's Orthodox faithful, who generally regard the Patriarch of Constantinople as the "first among equals" in the world's Orthodox hierarchy. However the decision does bolster the efforts of Turkey's secular government to downplay the international importance of the Constantinople patriarchate.

The court ruled that Patriarch Bartholomew has jurisdiction only over the small Orthodox community in Istanbul. Because he does not head other religious communities, he should not be described as "ecumenical," the court argued.

The Turkish government currently requires that the Patriarchate of Constantinople must be a Turkish citizen. Patriarch Bartholomew had recently called for a change in that requirement, arguing that a wider pool of potential candidates should be eligible for the post. The court's ruling severely damages chances for that policy change.

The world's Orthodox churches are generally divided along national lines, with each Church governing its own affairs. The Patriarch of Constantinople is regarded not as having authority over the other Orthodox bodies, but as having primacy among Orthodox patriarchs. The Russian Orthodox Church in particular has been insistent that the Ecumenical Patriarch should not be seen as the Orthodox equivalent of the Pope, but as a peer of the other patriarchs.

While some of the argumentation made by the court is valid (given Orthodox ecclesiology on the equality of bishops), this is but yet another in the historic 'legal' oppression of the Church in secularist Turkey.