Ecumenism is the name given to the movement of Christian churches against the divided and hostile relations between church forces. Ecumenism is a striving for the cohesion of religious communities on a global scale. The first references to the ecumenical movement appeared at the beginning of the 20th century. Thanks to the Protestant churches in the United States and Western Europe, in the next half century, ecumenism spread and received recognition from the World Assembly of Churches. This organization strongly supported ecumenical sentiments, which in the 50s of the last century led to the creation of the World Council of Churches - a body responsible for uniting and coordinating the activities carried out by ecumenical church organizations. With the help of the material presented below, having received and analyzed the information from it, you will be able to form your position regarding this movement and independently complete the sentence “Ecumenism is…”.
Defining ecumenism
The word "ecumenism" comes from the Greek oikoumene, which in translation into Russian means "peacepromised, the universe." The meaning of the name of the worldview fully justifies its policy aimed at creating a universal Christian belief capable of uniting all categories of the population.
The main Divine message - the Bible - calls us to unity. The Gospel of John (17:21) speaks of the commandment "Let them all be one." The Bible Society has strived for interfaith unity of activity throughout its existence, and ecumenism is a way of embodying boundless hopes for religious integration.
Basic, doctrinal foundation of ecumenism is faith in the Triune God. "Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior" - this is the unanimous dogmatic minimum of the ecumenical worldview.
Chronicles: A History of Ecumenism
Despite the fact that the emergence of ecumenism dates back only to 1910, at the beginning of the two-thousand-year history of Christianity, institutions preaching this religion were called ecumenical cathedrals, and the Patriarch of Constantinople awarded the heroes with the “ecumenical” title. Nevertheless, the desire for universal unity constantly competed with religious fragmentation, which ultimately led to the emergence of such new formations as schisms, sects and branches of Christianity. So, ecumenism is a religion with history.
The Church began looking for a solution to the problem in the year 10 of the twentieth century, when the Edinburgh Missionary Conference was held. The meeting discussed the importance and priority of interdenominational interaction despiteany confessional boundaries.
The foreseeable history of ecumenism continued into 1925. At one of the General Christian Conferences, the issue of a common Christian position and ways of its social, political or economic propaganda was raised.
Three years later, Lausanne (a city in Switzerland) hosted the first World Conference on Faith and Church Order. Its theme was devoted to the foundation of basic Christian unities.
The subsequent meetings of 1937-1938, in England and the Netherlands respectively, were held with slogans about Christian unity. During these years, the World Council of Churches was created, whose meeting, due to the outbreak of the Second World War, was held only after 10 years.
Conducting bilateral meetings and theological dialogues of Churches with different traditions and confessions can be considered the main achievement of ecumenism.
Does ecumenism support global Christianity?
Ecumenism in the Orthodox Church was strengthened in 1961, after the entry of the Russian Orthodox Church into the World Council of Churches.
Catholic Christianity is characterized by an ambiguous attitude towards the ecumenical movement: despite the fact that representatives of the Roman Catholic faith did not declare a complete denial of ecumenism, they are not part of it. Although, the Second Vatican Council of the Roman Catholic Church, which seemed to take a position reminiscent of a movement against ecumenism, emphasized the unnaturalness of division. "Splitsare at odds with the will of Christ,” the 1964 decree “On Ecumenism” stated. In addition, it is worth noting that the figures of this branch of Christianity take part in the activities of the commission "Faith and Church Order".
Interpretations of ecumenism
Ecumenists do not position themselves and their moods as a creed, an ideology, or a church-political movement. No, ecumenism is an idea, a desire to fight against the schism between those who pray to Jesus Christ.
All over the world the meaning of ecumenism is perceived differently, which, in turn, affects the problem of creating the final formulation of the definition of this movement. At the moment, the term "ecumenism" is divided into three semantic currents.
Interpretation No. 1. The purpose of ecumenism is the communion of Christian denominations
The problem of ideological and traditional differences, dogmatic differences of religious ramifications has led to a lack of dialogue between them. The ecumenical movement seeks to contribute to the development of Orthodox-Catholic relations. To deepen mutual understanding, coordinate and unite the efforts of Christian organizations in the non-Christian world in order to protect religious sentiments and feelings of the public, to resolve social problems - these are the tasks of "public" ecumenism.
Interpretation 2. Liberalism in ecumenism
Ecumenism calls for common Christian unification. The liberalism of the current consists in the desire, according to the Orthodox Church, to create artificially a new belief that will contradictexisting. Ecumenism with a liberal bias has a negative influence on apostolic succession and dogmatic teachings. The Orthodox Church hopes to see a pro-Orthodox ecumenical movement, which, based on recent events in the world of ecumenists, is impossible.
Interpretation No. 3. The unification of religions on a global scale as a task for ecumenism
Esoteric writers see ecumenism as a method of solving the problem of sectarian wars and misunderstandings. Ideas about a world dominated by a single religion are also characteristic of neo-pagans, fans of the worldview of the new era (new age). Such an ideology is a utopia not only for logical reasons: for example, such ecumenism is not supported in the Orthodox Church. And the position of the Patriarch of All Russia on the issue is expressed in the complete denial of the false doctrine of the creation of a "universal" religion.
Orthodox ecumenism: good or evil?
In the above three main interpretations of ecumenism, the common features of certain goals of the ecumenical movement were considered. However, for sure, in order to form a complete opinion about this teaching, one should get acquainted with the position of the Patriarch of All Russia Kirill.
According to representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church, the impossibility of her complicity in movements with ecumenical sentiments in the 70-80s of the last century was caused by:
- radical discrepancy between ecumenical statements and the teachings of the Orthodox Church (the perception of the main goals of faith in Christ is too strikingly different);
- deni althe possibility of uniting different Churches in dogmatic and doctrinal aspects thanks to the ecumenical movement;
- proximity and affinity of ecumenism with denied by the Russian Orthodox Church, politically minded or secret creeds;
- complete discrepancy between the goals of the ecumenical worldview and the tasks of the Orthodox Church.
Acquaintance with ecumenism and its study in the 20th century was accompanied by the appeal of the Russian Orthodox Church with the following content: “Christians of the whole world should not betray Christ and deviate from the true path to the Kingdom of God. Do not waste your mental and physical strength, time on creating alternatives to the righteous Church of Christ. The mirage temptation of the ecumenical church will not allow solving the difficulties of the unity of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches!”
The position of the Orthodox Church on ecumenism
At the moment, Cyril prefers to speak laconicly and accurately about ecumenism: this movement in the modern religious world is gaining momentum, but the Orthodox Church has not formed a distinct attitude towards ecumenical activity. So, are ecumenism and Patriarch Kirill compatible?
The Patriarch in his interview says that, following ecumenism, we do not betray Orthodoxy, as many people believe.
“Before you make unfounded accusations, you should carefully understand the situation, right? With the slogans preceding the anti-ecumenical movement: "Down with the heresy of ecumenism!", "We are against the traitors of the Orthodoxworld!" - it is very easy to make people think that ecumenism is part of a world revolution. In order to direct the efforts made by ecumenists in the right direction, it is necessary first of all to conduct a serious intelligent dialogue at the theological level. Noisy debates will not help in solving the problem of rejection of this movement "- such is Cyril's ecumenism.
It's too early to talk about full-fledged Eucharistic communion, because real church-wide reconciliation as such has not happened. Churches declare the non-existence of doctrinal differences and assert their readiness to make contact, but in the end … Ecumenism is encountered in the modern religious world: Orthodox give communion to Armenians, Catholics - Orthodox, if there is a need.
Is ecumenism resurgent? Meeting of the Patriarch and the Pope
In light of recent events, Kirill's support for ecumenism seems to be gaining more and more prominence. The significant meeting "Patriarch-Pope-Ecumenism", which took place on February 12, 2016, became, according to some journalists and political scientists, a point of no return. With the conclusion of the declaration, the religious world has turned upside down, and it is not known what forces will be able to return it to its original position.
What happened there at the meeting?
The meeting of representatives of two such relatives, but such religious denominations so far from each other - Patriarch Kirill and Pope Francis - excited all of humanity.
The heads of the two churches managed to discuss many issues regarding the direction of development of Orthodox-Catholic relations. In the endIn the end, after the conversation, a declaration was concluded and signed on drawing the attention of mankind to the problem of Christians suffering in the region of the Middle East. “Stop the war and immediately start conducting peace operations,” the text of the document calls.
The conclusion of the declaration and the phenomenal beginning of the dialogue between the Russian Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches is the first step towards a flourishing inter-religious movement. When meetings of this level take place, the future becomes brighter, with them opening doors leading to full-scale interfaith and interreligious cooperation. The latter will contribute to the solution of global economic and social problems of civilization. The generation of mankind, in whose heart there is a place for God, there is also hope for peaceful coexistence, without aggression, pain and suffering.
