Ecumenism

Ecumenism is one of the main heresies of our day, perhaps the most central heresy of history. It was described by St. Justin Popovic as the pan-heresy and by Prof. Andreas Theodorou as worse than heresy, indifference to the beliefs of the Church.

Doctrine

Ecumenists believe that all Christians should unite and recognize each other despite their differences. To them, the heresies which cut false confessions off from the Faith should not be a stumbling block to false unity. This often takes the form of mutual recognition rather than official union. Ecumenist clergy may concelebrate with those of other confessions.

Ecumenism is most simply put, straightforward and word-for-word denial of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church professed in the Nicene Creed. To be an ecumenist is to believe that all the various heresies within the broader Christian confessions (and sometimes even unrelated religions) are part of the Church of Christ (whether fully or partially so).

An ecumenist can believe that Protestants, Roman Catholics, Monophysites, and others have received baptism and are being saved outside of the Orthodox Church because his church lacks Oneness, being comprised of disunited heresies. It lacks Holiness because heresies and all uncleanness many not be excluded from the church. It lacks Catholicity, as no one church is universal. Similarly the ecumenical view of the church lacks Apostolicity, seeing how the various traditions do not follow the Faith once delivered to the apostles and often do not even pretend at apostolic succession. If one included the various late-stage Protestants, who have ceased to identify with any creed and exist simply as atomized individuals who may or may not attend any congregations whenever they see fit, or Jewish and pagan religions, then the ecumenists could be said to believe even in a meta-church comprised of non-churches, completing the denial of every word in the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.

Most of World Orthodoxy teaches ecumenism as official doctrine. To objections, it is usual to dress up ecumenism by claiming that Orthodoxy has the fullness of the faith while the other confessions have it in an imperfect form. Also common is to excuse participation in explicitly uncanonical ecumenist gatherings, by claiming that the participants are merely witnessing the Orthodox faith to non-members. (Those who claim to be doing so may be reminded of the fact that they do not at any point share Orthodoxy at the gathering.)

Variations

• Anglican branch theory is a variant of ecumenism, in which it is claimed that the many differently believing and mutually anathematized forms of Christianity together comprise the single body of the Church, like branches of a tree.

• The two lungs expression may be considered another term for branch theory.

• Perennialism is the belief that all religions are working towards the same truth.

Conservative ecumenism

Is the shepherd a heretic? Then he is a wolf, and it will be needful to flee and leap away from him, and not be deceived into approaching him, even if he appears to be fawning gently. Avoid communion and intercourse with him as snake's poison: for fish are caught with hook and bait while an evil intercourse which contains the poison of heresy concealed therein, has captured many of the more simple-minded who came close and expected to suffer no harm.

—St. Photius the Great, Homily 15

Ecumenism may vary in how extreme it is in both theory and practice. An extreme ecumenist may be a complete religious syncretist, participating in the rituals of not only Christian heretics but Jews, Muslims, and other pagans. More moderate ecumenists may restrict their ecumenism to some subset of Christian heretics, such as those which claim to have apostolic succession.

A special kind of ecumenism exists within conservative World Orthodoxy. It is predicated on the belief that the institution known officially by the name of Orthodox Church constitutes the Orthodox Church, instead of needing the public confession of the bishops actually be orthodox as a prerequisite for them to constitute the Church. This view originated in papism and was made most explicit in the First Vatican Council, which required a publicly known institution headed by an identifiable pope of Rome to exist until the end of time, in order for the Church to be defined by him. The difference in World Orthodoxy is that the place of the pope is taken by the official patriarchates. Sometimes this is a particular patriarch—Constantinople—and other times it is presented generally to cover any of the patriarchates. The preceding position is not different from most other World Orthodox. What makes it conservative ecumenism, however, is that while most World Orthodox have no problem with ecumenism, the conservative believes ecumenism and other heresies of the World Orthodox patriarchs to be heresy.

The belief that one must not be in communion with heretics, such as papists or Anglicans, who do do not call themselves the Eastern Orthodox Church, but must be in communion with heretics, such as Patriarch Bartholomew, who call themselves the Eastern Orthodox Church, is ironic because it falls into the very same ecumenist heresy of praying with heretics, which the conservative ecumenist criticizes in other ecumenists.

In an even more moderate form one may be lead to believe by a literal reading of Canon 15 that it is acceptable but not obligatory to break communion with heretics. This error results from reading the canon in isolation from other canons which specify that it is obligatory.

There are those who would argue that since canons are enforced by synods rather than acting automatically, that it is acceptable to pray with heretical ecumenists until a council is convened to condemn them. The biggest problem with this argument is that ecumenism has in fact been condemned countless times since the beginnings of Christianity. Firstly, ecumenism covers all heresies and thus is condemned by every condemnation of those heresies with which the ecumenist joins. Secondly, ecumenism has been synodally condemned by True Orthodox bishops. Synodal decisions need not find consensus with the heretics whom they condemn—indeed if they did, we would have to wait for the pope of Rome to come back to Orthodoxy and admit that he was wrong, along with all of his bishops, before we could break communion with them. In such a case no synod could ever break communion with any heretical bishops. Condemnations such as the anathema of 1983 or the condemnations of Sergianism by ROCOR and the Catacomb Church are valid condemnations, hence being aware of them we are obligated to obey them.

Historically it is true that the Holy Fathers did not in every instance break communion with every heretic immediately. However, it should be noted that they did break communion after first inquiring whether the heretic had, in fact, committed the heresy in question. There is no question as to whether the leaders of World Orthodoxy profess ecumenism publicly, nor whether they pray with heretics, as they have done so publicly and notoriously for decades.

It should be noted that there is no specially defined term of “conservative ecumenism” nor anathemas against it specifically, rather this is used here as a descriptive term for ecumenism which happens to be conservative. Its adherents may be known by many names, such as ecumenists, conservative World Orthodox, etc. They may also be referred to by the teacher or leader of a group.

Cyprianism

Main article: Holy Synod In Resistance#Ecclesiology.

The ecclesiology of the Holy Synod in Resistance is often criticized as being a form of conservative ecumenism, which many True Orthodox today denounce under the name of Cyprianism. Regardless, the HSIR hierarchy abandoned their former position when they rejoined the GOC-K. They did not anathematize Cyprianism when doing so, which would be a normal requirement for receiving repentant heretics.

Organization

The central authority of the ecumenical movement—at least, the most visible controlling head—is the so-called World Council of Churches.

History

Ecumenism began in Protestantism. The idea was to present a united front so that Christians in the missionary field would not appear divided.