THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH AS A MEMBER OF THE WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES AN ORTHODOX VIEW

by H. S . ALIVISATOS *

Some years ago, in one of my articles about the ecumenical movement and the World Council of Churches, criticising certain adverse opinions of some of its relentless friends, I expressed (without much skill of prophecy) the strong hope that both the Russian Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church would join the ecumenical movement in the near future and would become members of the World Council of Churches. That article was written at a time when both those Churches, each according to its own ideological position and to the social situation then existing, were extremely hostile in their attitude to the ecumenical movement and the World Council of Churches, refusing to have any kind of relationship with them. Nevertheless my prophecy has been fulfilled in a much shorter time than I ever imagined. The Russian Church was accepted as a full member of the World Council of Churches at its Assembly in New Delhi, and the representatives of the Russian Church are now regular members of the World Council of Churches Central Committee. Concerning the other half of my prophecy with regard to the Roman Catholic Church, there is no doubt that after what happened at Uppsala last July the full rapprochement of the Roman Catholic Church to the World Council of Churches is merely a question of a very short time. The full membership of the Roman Catholic Church in the Faith and Order Committee, the successful cooperation between representatives of the Roman Catholic Church and of the World Council of Churches in the Joint Working Group, and the large official delegation of (active) Roman Catholic observers at the Uppsala Assembly, form a hopeful prelude to the official membership of the Roman Catholic Church in the World Council. Furthermore, articles like the one by Father C. S . Dumont in Vers 1’ Unite chrktienne (May- June 1968) and Father Tucci’s most significant address at the Uppsala Assembly, other similar expressions, as well as Dr. Blake’s very wise, if rather restrained, expressions on the subject, all seem to indicate the extraordinary fact that the Roman Catholic ~ _ _ * Prof. Dr. HAMILCAR S. ALIVISATOS, Orthodox Church of Greece, Vice-president of the

Academy of Athens, has been active in the ecumenical movement since 1920. He is a member of the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches.

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Church may soon enter into full membership of the World Council of Churches. It is unnecessary for an Orthodox to comment in detail on the two documents mentioned above, but I do think that Orthodox theology would fully approve their content. If the Roman Catholic Church joins the World Council, this will be a subject of joy and of the deepest gratitude to God, for the advancement of the great cause of reunion of the divided Christian Churches through the World Council of Churches. Some people on both sides formulated the difficulties of Roman Catholic membership in the World Council, duly commented on the Basis of the World Council’s Constitution, and on the ecclesiological position of the Roman Catholic Church after its decision on ecumenism taken at the Second Vatican Council. But they left no doubt that these difficulties can be easily overcome. Earlier, the cooperation of the Orthodox Church with the World Council had been severely criticised from the Roman Catholic side, and fears had been expressed that the Orthodox Church would be isolated within the pan-Protestant environment of the World Council. I repeatedly reacted to this negative position by showing that the Ortho- dox Church’s participation in the World Council was not only in full agreement with the famous Patriarchal Encyclical to the Christian Churches in 1920 concerning the formation of a League of Christian Churches, long before the formation of the World Council of Churches ; it was also extremely important, just because the Orthodox Church‘s presence within the pan-Protestant environment of the World Council provided a unique opportunity for the kerygrna of the one Catholic Church to be heard in that pan-Protestant environment. Otherwise that kerygrna would not have been heard at all within the great effort of the World Council to reunite the divided Christian Churches. Later on my reaction was corroborated by the fact that the ecumenical movement, apart from some special doctrinal details, was in some way endorsed and adopted (even its name “ecumenical movement”) by the new Roman Catholic theology, as developed through the decisions of the Second Vatican Council. This means that a cordial cooperation between the Roman Catholic Church and the World Council of Churches is by no means excluded. In fact there is no serious obstacle to such a happy solution of the prob- lem, which would surely lead to the desired dialogue between the two, and to a satisfactory explanation of some existing differences, which

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without any deeper reason cause divisions. According to my own long experience in the ecumenical movement, the cooperation between the Orthodox Church and the World Council of Churches has led to a better understanding (on the part of Protestant theology) of the eccles- iology, the holy tradition and the worship of the Orthodox Church, as explained by Orthodox theologians ; whereas formerly even renowned theologians like Harnack, Loofs, Kattenbusch and others knew the Orthodox Church well, but only as outsiders. It is therefore evident that the organic cooperation between the Roman Catholic Church and the World Council would have similar, and even more effective, results. Through this cooperation the World Council will undoubtedly lose its pan-Protestant character. But it will gain in its real ecumenical aim, namely the reunion of the divided Christian Churches. The position taken by the Orthodox Church towards the World Council was undoubtedly a sound one, and I am glad that similar developments in the Roman Catholic Church lead to a similar policy. It will be a blessing, not only for the World Council but also for the whole ecumen- ical movement. If the Roman Catholic Church joins the World Council, this will surely mean closer cooperation between the World Council and the Orthodox Church and the other Eastern Churches, but not of course in the sense of creating a strong Catholic front in confrontation with the Protestant world. The prevailing ecumenical spirit is entirely against such combin- ations, and the cooperation will strengthen the Catholic-Protestant dialogue, which till now had to be carried on (even if inadequately) by the Orthodox Church alone. This inadequacy of the Orthodox Church was due not only to its minority-position in face of the vast Protestant majority in the World Council ; it was due also to the slow development of Orthodox theology concerning the new trends in modern Protestant theology. Now the renewal of Roman Catholic theology, as formulated by the Second Vatican Council, will surely in some way help Orthodox theology to some similar development, which will help to promote the right ecumenical ideal. Further, the cooperation of the Roman Catholic Church with the Orthodox Church within the World Council will naturally lead to their sharing the role hitherto played by the Orthodox Church alone, in a much more systematic and methodical way, especially in regard to ecclesiology, tradition and worship. This will surely enforce the dialogue with the Protestants who cling (and rightly so) just as tenaciously to their

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Protestant traditions ; it will elucidate certain prerogatives of the visible Church which escape Protestant theology, despite its eagerness to approach the early united Church of which both the Orthodox and the Roman Catholic Churches claim to be the unbroken continuation. Of course, the development of the ecclesiological question in a joint cooperation between all the Catholic Churches will probably cause some trouble vis-his the Protestant concept of ecclesiology. But I think that some way will be found out of the deadlock, in the spirit of Vincent of LCrins in omnia autem caritas. In thinking about the development of the ecumenical movement in the near future, especially through cooperation with the Roman Catholic Church and the World Council of Churches, I must mention a concern already expressed about a possible development - a concern which I personally do not share. The fear is expressed that the common Western way of thinking shared by Roman Catholics and Protestants, and their common heritage of Scholastic theology (from which Protestant theology is not entirely detached) may perhaps tend to isolate the Orthodox Church within the World Council in a new way. I do not think any such danger exists -not only because of the presence of a genuine ecumenical spirit, but also because of the deep ties between the Roman Catholic and the Orthodox Church, especially in the fields of ecclesiology, tradition and worship. Roman Catholic membership of the World Council, as seen from the Orthodox side, would therefore mean a positive step towards union, or rather reunion. For this reason I would welcome with real enthusiasm the entrance of the Roman Catholic Church into the World Council of Churches, and her cooperation with the rest of Christendom. I would regard this as a positive step towards the rediscovery of the Una Sancta. It is not far from any of us, and it may suddenly appear before us, as the result of good will and closer and sincere cooperation. The God who brought about the miracle of the forty-eight years of existence of the ecumenical movement (and who can deny, it is a mir- acle ?) will surely manifest Himself in the new miracle of the full cooper- ation of the whole Christian world. Theology, old or new, is unable to explain or to predict it. But it will surely appear in all its glory much more quickly than the first forty-eight years, maybe already at the next Assembly, representing a new Pentecost of the renewed united Christian Church. God may grant to His Christian people this new manifestation of His Kingdom on earth. Yea, come Lord Jesus; it is time. I am coming very soon.