Bishop Hilarion believes that Orthodoxy and Catholicism Should Form an Alliance on the Path to Unity
Catholics often pray for Christian unity.
What would that look like? Could it be done all at once? Where is there hope?
It is important to recognize the state of large Christian denominations by the numbers:
Catholic Church (Pentecost: 33 AD): 1.2 billion
Oriental Orthodox Church (Chalcedonian Schism: 451 AD): 82 million
Eastern Orthodox Church (Great Schism: 1054 AD): 230 million
Protestant Churches (Protestant Reformation: 1517 AD): 670 million
Anglican Communion (Henry VIII’s Act of Supremacy: 1534 AD): 80 million
The oldest break from the Catholic Church was the Chalcedonian schism, in which what later came to be called Oriental Orthodox bishops objected to the idea that Jesus had two natures because they believed this was an implicit endorsement of the heresy that the two natures were two separate persons. This theological dispute caused a mutual round of excommunications between the Pope and the Oriental Orthodox patriarchs.
The Great Schism was built around the infamous filioque dispute, a radically technical dispute on whether or not the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son as two separate principles or one principle. The Eastern Orthodox Church was more nationalist due to the fact that it was located with the Byzantine Empire and tied to the empire. Roman Catholicism had no nationalist background tying it to individual nations.
In 1964, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras I lifted the mutual excommunications on their respective churches. The Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue Between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church (both Eastern and Oriental) was launched in 1980. One of the most important breakthrough was the realization that there was no doctrinal barrier to reunification except one big one: the primacy of the Pope and the ability of the Pope to lead the Church in an ongoing refinement of Christian dogma.
The Protestant Reformation was led by Martin Luther and John Calvin. Today, Protestant churches and theologies are so splintered as to defy a simple definition. Apostolic succession is non-existent and almost universally not even desired.
Anglicanism, famously founded by Henry VIII to discharge his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, in many ways has served as the voice of the Left in the Christian faith. There are some more orthodox movements inside the Anglican communion but the church was the first to endorse contraception, the first to endorse abortion, and the first to have openly gay clergy. Apostolic succession existed but was forfeited by various Protestant reforms.
Of the various Christian traditions, unity seems to be possibly on the horizon for the Catholic Church with both the Oriental and Eastern Orthodox Churches. John Paul II famously said of the Orthodox and Catholic faiths: “Europe has two lungs. It will never breathe easily until it can use both of them.” Entering into a Catholic-Orthodox reunion would require a tackling of the authority principle in the Church. Throughout countless centuries, all other doctrines have remained the same. The Left has exercised enormous influence over certain dogmas of various Protestant and Anglican churches. However, the Left has found Catholic and Orthodox dogmas utterly impenetrable.
Hilarion Alfeyev, a leading Bishop of the Orthodox Church believes that the path to Christian unity should be paved by an alliance against the Left:
“In the struggle against relativism the Roman Catholic Church takes an uncompromising stand, but by doing so it further distances itself from Protestants, whose positions are in most cases much more in tune with modern developments. Protestants are, therefore, rather unlikely allies in this struggle. Moreover, there already exist many forums, organizations and agencies promoting the dialogue between Catholics and Protestants on social issues. There are also Protestant-Orthodox forums, such as the Conference of European Churches. What is almost entirely lacking in Europe is any space for a Catholic-Orthodox dialogue on social and ethical issues, while this dialogue would be so timely and so vital.
The rationale behind my proposal is the following: our churches are on their way to unity, but one has to be realistic and understand that it will probably take decades, if not centuries, before this unity is realized. In the meantime we desperately need to address the world with a united voice. Without being one Church, can we act as one Church? Can we present ourselves to the outside world as a unified structure, as an alliance? I am convinced that we can, and that by doing so we may become much stronger.”
It may take decades or centuries but the Holy Spirit has laid a desire for greater Christian unity on the hearts of the Orthodox (both Eastern and Oriental) and Catholics.
How can we say no?