Visit by a delegation of the SerbianOrthodox Church

VISIT BY A DELEGATION OF THE SERBIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH

Bishop Irinej of Backa and Bishop Atanasije of Zahum and Herzegovina of the Serbian Orthodox Church were on a visit to the Russian Orthodox Church from August 8 to 15, 1998. The Serbian bishops began their visit to Russia with a trip to the diocese of Smolensk where they were hosted by Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, chairman of the Department for External Church Relations. On August 9 and 10, the Feast-Days of the Synaxis of the Smolensk Saints and the Icon of Our Lady of Smolensk, Bishops Irinej and Atanasije concelebrated with Metropolitan Kirill at the Cathedral of the Dormition in Smolensk.

Then the delegation visited Moscow. On August 11, the two Serbian bishops together with Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad held a press-conference on the attitude of the Serbian Orthodox Church to the ecumenical movement. As is known, the Serbian and Russian Churches initiated the convening of a pan-Orthodox conference in Thessaloniki in April/May 1998 to assess new facts in relations between Orthodoxy and the ecumenical movement. The conference formulated a common Orthodox stand on the burning problems existing in relations with the World Council of Churches (WCC).

The participants in the press-conference emphasized the unity in judgment between the Serbian and Russian Churches concerning the participation in the ecumenical movement. Bishop Irinej expressed regret at the fact that some Russian mass media distorted the official position of the Serbian Orthodox Church, saying, “Those who criticize ecumenism tend to fall into the same temptation as did the Judeo-Christians of the apostolic era. Zealots of their forefathers’ traditions and piety, they were too narrow-minded to understand that the Jewish-rooted new tidings brought by Jesus Christ to the world were addressed not only to them but to the entire humanity and was called to become a leaven for the Universal Church and the renewed people of God. In the case of denouncing ecumenism, zeal beyond reason manifests itself in irrational fear of those of different faiths. Ecumenism seeks to restore the lost unity of Christians confessing Christ as the Lord and Savior. Our duty, therefore, is to bear witness to Orthodoxy in this divided Christian world and offer an example of brotherly love towards those who do not share our faith.

“The road along which the World Council of Churches has wandered away is a different matter, as it has neglected the work to restore the unity of Christian Oikoumene for the sake of political, national, ideological and other goals. The presence of Orthodoxy in the WCC has been a constant reminder of the authentic spiritual essence and calling of ecumenism… The Orthodox minority in this organization has become a hostage of the traditional democratic procedure for solving specific problems, inappropriate in this case. In fact, is it a majority of votes that should settle the problems of the Truth and salvation? I cannot still shake off the peculiar remembrance of the voting procedure at the WCC assemblies.

“After all, the Orthodox participants in the WCC cannot but ask the question: Has not everything ended in their playing unwittingly the role of a spiritual alibi for the forces who pursue the goal of destroying the foundations of Christian faith and ethics? Today our conscience and our duty call us to seek new ways and models of dialogue. We will do it through negotiations, using the means of love and making others listen to reason in a brotherly spirit. But if we shall see no sincerity and openness in response, we will have to leave the WCC all together. Here we refer to the pan-Orthodox consensus reached on this matter in Thessaloniki.

Of course, ecumenism is neither an agent of mondialism nor a servant of the world Protestantism. The Orthodox who participate in this movement do not at all sin against their faith or conscience. They are witnesses to Orthodoxy in the non-Orthodox world, though bloodless and unworthy. We are not against dialogue and cooperation, but we are against transactions and compromises at the expense of the Christian Truth. At the same time we have to resist not only the dangerous ambiguity made by the WCC a principle of its work, but also those solidary forces who see in ecumenism a “super-heresy” and do not even stop short of causing church schisms at home. Along with existing “Rome-centrism” (Catholicism) and “Geneva-centrism” (Protestantism), there should appear and assert itself Christ-centered Orthodox ecumenism. St. John called us to test the spirits to see whether they are from God. The spirits of ecumenism are not exceptions here, of course.”

Bishop Atanasije of Zahum and Herzegovina whose diocese suffered a great loss in the Kosovo conflict spoke about the situation in Kosovo. He said in particular, “The present stage in the struggle for the separation of Kosovo began after the death of Tito. Characteristically, it started with the setting a fire to the Patriarchate of Pec on March 16, 1981. This crime was committed exactly on the Sunday of Orthodoxy we celebrated at that time. Then the Kosovo Albanians declared war on Orthodox monasteries. They probably did it precisely because that land, which has the historical Serbian name of Metochia, belonged from time immemorial to monasteries which used to be a kind of frontier posts. Orthodox bishops suffered all kinds of humiliation, even beating… Out of 35 parishes in my diocese only 20 parishes managed to survive. What the Jews suffered at the hands of the Babylonians and the Christians at the hands of the Romans in antiquity is now suffered by the Kosovo Orthodox at the hands of the Albanians”.

On August 12, the delegation of the Serbian Orthodox Church was received by His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia.

The Serbian bishops visited the Church of Christ the Savior, St. Sergius’ Monastery of the Trinity, Moscow Theological Academy in Seminary and the Sofrino art production workshop.