Στις 17 Ιουνίου του 2018, στα 70α γενέθλια του Παγκοσμίου Συμβουλίου Εκκλησιών, συμμετείχε ο Πατριάρχης Βαρθολομαίος και ήταν από τους βασικούς ομιλητές. Είχε ήδη ξεκινήσει τη διαίρεση της Ορθοδοξίας με αφορμή το Ουκρανικό, αδιαφορώντας για τις ολέθριες συνέπειες για από τις επιλογές του.
Δείτε την
εξευτελιστική συμμετοχή του στην τελετή έναρξης και στην παρωδία λιτανείας στο
0:53 όπου ένας κύριος με φούστα προηγείται κρατώντας τη Βίβλο και στο 1:00 όπου
περνά μπροστά από τον απαθή Πατριάρχη.
Σε αυτή την
Πανθρησκεία μας οδηγεί ο Βαρθολομαίος!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4S5OthJhxRY
ΒΙΝΤΕΟ ΑΠΟ ΣΥΜΠΡΟΣΕΥΧΕΣ ΣΤΑ ΠΛΑΙΣΙΑ ΤΩΝ ΕΡΓΑΣΙΩΝ ΤΟΥ ΠΑΓΚΟΣΜΙΟΥ ΣΥΜΒΟΥΛΙΟΥ ΕΚΚΛΗΣΙΩΝ
-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQJmSxgEdZU&list=PLI22eVXX9FYldvlX0X5O-KpILYUK4pREt&index=14&ab_channel=WorldCouncilofChurches
-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2Lmnyi8u7k&list=PLI22eVXX9FYldvlX0X5O-KpILYUK4pREt&index=13&ab_channel=WorldCouncilofChurches
-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcRksc4cbCQ&list=PLI22eVXX9FYldvlX0X5O-KpILYUK4pREt&index=12&ab_channel=WorldCouncilofChurches
…………………………
ΑΚΟΛΟΥΘΕΙ Η ΟΜΙΛΙΑ ΤΟΥ
ΟΙΚΟΥΜΕΝΙΚΟΥ ΠΑΤΡΙΑΡΧΗ
Homily
of His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew on the
70th
Anniversary of the World Council of Churches Saint Peter's Cathedral, Geneva,
17 June 2018
"Fellow
heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the same promise in Jesus
Christ through the Gospel" (Eph. 3:6)
Beloved brothers and sisters in
Christ,
This year we
celebrate the seventieth anniversary of the World Council of Churches, this fellowship
of Churches “which confess the Lord Jesus Christ as God and Saviour according
to the scriptures and therefore seek(s) to fulfil together their common calling
to the glory of the one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit."[1]
We celebrate a
long common pilgrimage on the path to unity, Christian witness, and the
commitment to justice, peace, and the preservation of creation.
We give thanks to
God, who has guided our steps, and we implore his protection and support to
continue together on the same path, with the same zeal and fervor.
Ninety-eight
years ago, shortly after the end of the devastating First World War, a voice
was raised in the Christian East, calling on the Churches of the entire
oikouménè to show mutual trust between themselves and to no longer regard
themselves as strangers, but as relatives and dear ones in Christ, as
"fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the same promise
of God" (Eph. 3:6). This voice also invited the Churches to join hands in
healing the deep wounds caused by the war, wounds which reflected a total
disregard for the most elementary principles of law and humanity and which
threatened the very foundations of the Christian faith.
This voice was
the Encyclical which the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople sent out in
January 1920 "To all the Churches of Christ in the World," proposing
to them the creation of a "League of Churches" (Κοινωνία τῶν Ἐκκλησιῶν)
based on the model of the League of
Nations, which
had been created here in Geneva in the same year by President Wilson. According to the late Visser't Hooft, first
general secretary of the World Council of Churches, this Encyclical "rang
the bell of our assembly." It should perhaps be mentioned, for history’s
sake, that this pioneer of ecumenism made this comment right here, in the
Cathedral of Saint Peter, in November 1967 during the visit to the World
Council of the Churches of our illustrious predecessor, Patriarch Athenagoras I
of eternal memory.
This "League
of Churches" proposed by Constantinople finally took on flesh and bones 28
years later in 1948, and was named the "World Council of Churches."
It was created through the fusion of the interChristian movements on "Faith
and Order" and "Life and Action". Both were also very active
beginning in 1920: the former in the
theological domain and the latter in the area of practical Christianity.
Throughout the
seventy years of its existence, the World Council of Churches – this structured
and well-organized expression of the contemporary ecumenical movement – was
certainly one of the means chosen by the Lord to draw humanity's attention to
the "new commandment" of love which He has given us (Jn. 13:30), also
called "the royal law" (Jam. 2:8) in the Epistle of James, and to
encourage through His Church respect for the precepts of reconciliation, peace,
justice and solidarity which He preached.
This long period
of seventy years witnessed the accumulation of a wealth of experience by the
member Churches of the Council and by the many ecumenical partners and
companions on the shared path toward coexistence, mutual understanding and
cooperation, and toward progress on the path of dialogue and coordinated
action. This occurred despite the occasional challenges and theological or
socio-political crises – or even institutional or financial ones.
Today, we must
look to the future and continue our common pilgrimage toward unity, justice and
peace. As an instrument of its member Churches, the Council, which not only
engages in theological dialogue but also demonstrates solidarity and mutual
love, must join forces more closely in order to reach out more effectively to
human beings who suffer today in so many ways. It is essential that dialogue
goes hand in hand with witness in the world and actions that express "the
ineffable joy" of the Gospel (1 Pet. 1:8), excluding any act of
confessional antagonism. In this spirit, it is important that we Christians,
inspired by the shared basic principles of the Gospel, strive to give an
attentive and supportive answer to the thorny problems posed by today's world.
As the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church, convened in Crete in June
2016, affirmed, the local Orthodox Churches that are members of the World Council
of Churches participate fully and equally in the bodies of this institution and
contribute by all means at their disposal to promoting peaceful coexistence and
cooperation in addressing major socio-political issues[2].
This activity in
the world must be based on our shared prototype of the new man in Christ – an
ecclesial experience and vocation that the faithful must live out. Thus, by
words and deeds, in ways visible and invisible, the World Council of Churches
must proclaim through its witness Christ, and Christ alone.
Metropolitan John
(Zizioulas) of Pergamon notes that very often the oikouménè is wrongly regarded
as a mere synthesis of various beliefs and religions that exist in the world.
However, as Metropolitan John adds, it is necessary to pay more attention to
another reality, to the fact that "the oikouménè is also a way of bringing
together different Christian spiritualities, a different vision of the
future," and that "the catholicity of the Church is not simply a way
of bringing together cultures and nations as they exist in their current state
of relations," but also a way of uniting "historical identities and
traditions, so that they can be transcended in the unity of the body of
Christ."[3]
It should not be
forgotten that catholicity and unity are profoundly related since they describe
God's work in history and in the world, which aims at bringing humanity
together through the miracle of Pentecost. This miracle is performed by the
Paraclete, the Spirit of God. Of course, we believe that "the Spirit blows
where it wills" (Jn. 3:8) and knows no limits. However, as our master at
Bossey, Professor Nikos Nissiotis, said so well, we also believe that this very
Spirit "acts through that which he established, the Church, by showing
through his work the new era that is unfolding in history, and by pointing to
its ultimate fulfillment at the end of time."[4] The Holy Spirit was sent to guide us
"into all the truth" (Jn. 16:13), to manifest the saving work of
Christ and to lead the Church toward the Kingdom of God. Indeed, God grants us
strength through his Spirit, so that Christ may dwell in our hearts by faith
and so that we might be rooted and grounded in love (see Eph. 3:17-18). This
essential biblical affirmation is of the utmost importance in any ecumenical
discussion on the unity of the Church and on the solidarity of all humanity.
Beloved brothers
and sisters in Christ,
The World Council
of Churches was founded with the aim of promoting the unity of Christians.
Unfortunately, since its foundation, many differences and unforeseen
difficulties have arisen. In spite of them, we continue our dialogue in order
to surmount these difficulties, overcome our misunderstandings, erase our
prejudices, and bear witness more authentically to the Gospel message. Dialogue
does not imply a renouncing of one's ecclesial tradition. Instead it signifies
a change in our state of mind and attitude, what we call "repentance"
in the language of spirituality, in Greek métanoia, which means “to see things
from a different perspective.” In this sense, dialogue is the beginning of a
long process of mutual understanding that requires much patience and openness.
We are aware that the movement to restore the unity of Christians is taking new
forms in order to respond to new situations and to deal with the current
challenges of the world.
Ahead of us lie
tasks that are particularly important and delicate, which we must fulfill
together. The fundamental difficulty of the main traditions present in the
World Council of Churches – the Christian East and the Churches of the
Reformation – is the need to redefine the nature of this institution and to
mark the limits of the"oikouménè", in which the Council is called to
bear witness and serve. Here the contribution of ecumenical partners and
companions are always welcome. We are pleased with the constructive cooperation
between the World Council of Churches and the Roman Catholic Church, and with
the joint efforts to respond together to the major questions and challenges of
our times.
Let us have no
illusions! The Churches have so far been unable to overcome their divisions and
achieve the much-desired unity. Therefore, they cannot claim that they easily
bring together all of humanity, consisting of different cultures and faiths.
Nevertheless, our constructive and fraternal collaboration within the World
Council of Churches strengthens us in our quest for unity and in our witness to
the universality of the Gospel, which has enabled us until now to contribute at
various levels to promoting peace in the world and a culture of solidarity
among humanity. But let us never forget that the fruit of unity cannot ripen
without divine grace. This is why our Holy and Great Council rightly reminded
us that "while the Orthodox Church dialogues with other Christians, she
does not underestimate the difficulties inherent in this endeavor; She perceives these difficulties, however, on
the path towards a common understanding of the tradition of the ancient Church and
in hope that the Holy Spirit, Who 'welds together the whole institution of the
Church,' will 'make up that which is lacking.'"[5]
With this trust
in the Holy Spirit, the Orthodox Church continues to bear its witness to the
Christian world that is still divided, and to the contemporary world marked by
various crises and divisions. Its commitment to witnessing to the world is
nourished by its theandric character, which is not of this world. As the
Encyclical of the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church affirmed in its
invitation to the entire Christian world: "The Church lives not for
herself. She offers herself for the whole of humanity in order to raise up and
renew the world into new heavens and a new earth (cf. Rev. 1:21). Hence, she
gives Gospel witness and distributes the gifts of God in the world: His love,
peace, justice, reconciliation, the power of the Resurrection and the
expectation of eternal life."[6]
[1] “Constitution and Rules of the World Council of
Churches.”
[2] “Relations of the Orthodox Church with the Rest of
the Christian World,” §17.
[3] John (Zizioulas) of Pergamon, "Action and
Icon-Messianic Sacramentality and Sacramental ethics," in: Th. Wieser
(ed.), Whither
Ecumenism? A Dialogue in the Transit Lounge of the Ecumenical Movement (Geneva: World Council of Churches, 1986), 63.
[4] Nikos A. Nissiotis, “The Pneumatological Aspect of
the Catholicity of the Church,” in: Reinhard Groscurth (ed.), What Unity Implies: Six Essays after Uppsala, World Council of Churches Studies 7 (Geneva: World
Council of Churches, 1969), 19.
[5] See “Relations of the Orthodox Church with the Rest
of the Christian World,” §8.
[6] “Encyclical,” Introduction.
Δεν υπάρχουν σχόλια:
Δημοσίευση σχολίου