Ecumenical Set-backs

For about thirty years, since the Second Vatican Council of 1962-5, the Roman Catholic Church has been committed to explore means of reconciliation with the Eastern Orthodox and Anglican Churches. The on-going dialogue has ultimate reunion as its objective. This past year, however, the process has run into difficulties.

Negotiations between the Anglican Church and the Vatican had seemed to be making fair progress, which resulted in an Accord being proposed, the fruit of much thought and discussion. It dealt with such matters as communion and priesthood, as well as how the reunited churches would relate to the Papacy. On this point the Anglican negotiators had seemed to be surprisingly amenable to acceptance of the "Bishop of Rome" as the central authority leading a reunited church. However, the leadership envisaged was according to the precedent of less authoritative popes during the earlier centuries of Christianity. It did not suggest continuance of the much more authoritative status given to the modern Papacy. This approach had found favour among many Church of England bishops; it was not necessarily palatable to some elements within the Anglican communion.

The Vatican's official response to these proposals about the Papacy was chilly and uncompromising. It insisted that a "reunited Church must be built upon a Papacy that is a God-given 'permanent' institution, with 'universal' jurisdiction, 'directly founded' by Jesus Christ". It also reasserted the Pope's personal power to teach infallibly on faith and morals. This "papal thunderbolt" came as a shock to advocates of ecumenical union. A leading Anglican negotiator observed that it is "neither necessary nor possible" to accept the old papal definitions. A Vatican official remarked: "We're up against a wall. We have to pray, but I think we're praying for a miracle".

The Orthodox Church will also be opposed to this insistence on papal prerogatives, for they have never accepted the Papacy's claim to rule and teach on behalf of all Christendom. Friction has also developed between the Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches regarding activities in Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States. In many of these countries the Orthodox Church has traditionally been predominant. They sought to preserve a presence and witness through long periods of communist repression. Now that religious freedoms have been granted, the Roman Catholics are aggressively striving to extend their influence in areas which the Orthodox Church regarded as its own preserves. This rivalry is resented and has affected relations with Rome; but the Orthodox leadership has stopped short of breaking off ecumenical dialogue over the issue.

Indeed on some matters the Catholic and Orthodox Churches have common positions in contrast to the Anglican and Protestant groups. For example in regard to Christian unity they consider that Anglicans and Protestants raise "serious obstacles" by ordaining women and avoiding masculine language to refer to God.

World-wide there are claimed to be 891 million Roman Catholics, 200 million Orthodox and 70 million Anglican adherents. The aim is therefore to combine the three groups to form a church with a membership of more than a billion. Recent set-backs illustrate some of the problems involved. Nevertheless scriptural indications suggest that the ecumenical movement will persist, finally resulting in a vast apostate religious system

at the time of the end. This system is thought by many Bible students to be represented by the great harlot of Revelation chapter 17. After the Lord's return to the air for His Church the influence of these believers will have been removed. Religious apostasy will then grow apace, making compromise and amalgamation more acceptable, The present ecumenical movement may therefore well be precursor to the end-time religious scene.

A very practical issue is our Christian responsibility in relation to compromises which seek unity between Catholic, Orthodox and Anglican communions. Would the Holy Spirit lead us, through obedience to Scripture, to be identified with any one of these groups? Surely not if we are concerned about contending earnestly for the faith once for all delivered unto the saints (Jude v.3). Paul wrote that it is God's will that all men should be saved, and come to the full knowledge of the truth (1 Tim. 2:4). In apostolic days that led disciples of Christ to he united together in churches of God. Nor is there any alternative today if we still wish to achieve true divine unity: a concept so essentially different from ecumenical union!

unknown | Nov 1992
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