Official Response of the Moscow Patriarcate to the White Paper on European Governance
9.04.2002 · English, Архив 2002
OFFICIAL RESPONSE OF THE MOSCOW PATRIARCATE TO THE WHITE PAPER ON EUROPEAN GOVERNANCE
On 27 July 2001 the European Commission made public ‘The White Paper on European governance. The authors of the document think that one of the directions in the integration development of Europe is the strengthening of links between the supernational bodies of power and the institutions of civil society including religious organizations. The White Paper presents possible mechanisms of cooperation between the EU agencies and public organizations. The European Commission has offered different public associations an opportunity to express their opinion on the White Paper.
The Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate has prepared an official response to this document. The participation of the Russian Orthodox Church in the dialogue with the European agencies is determined by several reasons. An intended joining of the EU by some countries of the Orthodox tradition and Baltic countries with the Orthodox communities of the Moscow Patriarchate situated on their territory; numerous parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church in Western Europe; and the fact that the European Union borders on the states, which comprise the canonical territory of the Moscow Patriarchate, create necessary preconditions for active work of the Russian Orthodox Church in securing a deserved existence of full value for the Orthodox civilization within the united Europe. Besides, such cooperation may contribute to the good neighborly and constructive relations between Russia and Europe.
The White Paper is of great interest to the Russian Orthodox Church. It allows to get acquainted with the basic directions of the development of integration processes in Europe. The European experience is valuable as an example for certain creative borrowings, on the one hand, and as a point for understanding our own peculiarities in organizing social life in the countries where the Russian Orthodox Church carries out its pastoral work, on the other. Our reaction to the White Paper is dictated by our wish to work out a definite framework for cooperation between our Church and the European Union.
1. Contribution of the nations of Orthodox culture to the development of European integration
With the adoption of new members, the European Union grows beyond the borders of Western Europe. The nations, which have traditionally belonged to Orthodox culture start joining it. The Orthodox diasporas (Russians, Greeks, Serbs, Romanians, etc.) have participated in the European process as a part of Western society, but now the integration involves their national states in its orbit. It is important that people in Western Europe should understand that the Orthodox countries of Eastern Europe have the right to make their full contribution to the common European home. The specific features of the Orthodox worldview should be reflected in the ‘European project’, and only then it will become attractive to the Eastern Christian World.
1.1. Presence of the Russian Orthodox Church in Europe
Several waves of emigration from Russia to Western Europe have resulted in the establishment of parishes and whole dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church. We are concerned over the legal and social status of Orthodox communities in the united Europe. As the Baltic States, where there are about three hundred Orthodox communities under the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate, joined the European Union, the Russian Orthodox Church becomes a direct participant in the European social life.
1.2. Contribution to establishment of the value bases of the European unity
The Russian Orthodox Church is ready to take part in providing harmonious existence of various religions in Europe and in working out legislation on the status of religious communities in the future Europe. This direction of cooperation may suppose that the Orthodox Churches join the discussion of the fundamental European legal acts. Also possible is our cooperation with the agencies, which are to contribute to the value dimension of the united Europe, for example, in the convention ‘For the Future of Europe’.
1.3. Mechanisms of cooperation
The Russian Orthodox Church is greatly interested in concrete cooperation with the European Union. Our Church is ready to participate in the consultation system, which is being shaped in the European Commission and other agencies of the Union. Probably, when working out a common code of consultation rules, it is necessary to consider a possibility of addressing the Orthodox Churches of Europe for expert advice. At the same time, the Church should not be limited only to participation in discussing the interethnic and interreligious relations. The representatives of the Church are ready to take part in discussing the development of the Pan-European security system, social problems, ethics of applying modern technologies, migration, etc. For this objective, it would be necessary to provide the Orthodox an expert access to different committees and expert groups of the European Commission.
2. International cooperation
Taking into consideration the fact that the European Commission intends to develop its functions as a representative body of the united Europe on the international arena and especially in the relations with its closest neighbors, the White Paper indicates a priority in the international contacts of the Commission, namely, the maintenance of relations with the NGOs of third countries. The Russian Orthodox Church as an important institute of civil society in several post–Soviet countries is ready to conduct an inter-cultural dialogue between Europe and the states of Eastern Europe, which do not plan to join the European Union.
2.1. The Russian Orthodox Church as an important institute of civil society in Russia
The Russian Orthodox Church is an important subject of civil society. It forms public culture of many peoples in the Russian Federation. Besides, it has a great number of faithful in all countries of the former USSR. Orthodoxy is a dominating spiritual and cultural type in such countries as Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova. Under the circumstances the Russian Orthodox Church remains one of the important factors in the shaping of foreign policy of Russia and some states of the CIS.
2.2. Region of a special cooperation between Russia and the EU
When the countries of Central and Eastern Europe join the EU, a large region of Orthodox civilization will be introduced into the Union. These countries have traditionally been the priority for the foreign policy of Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and Moldova. Undoubtedly, it will facilitate the dialogue between the EU and Russia, but at the same time it will require joint actions for the solution of a number of problems pertaining to the inter-Orthodox and inter-confessional relations in the frontier region.
2.3. Improving the climate in relations between Russia and the EU
The development of relations between the EU and Russia presupposes that the civilizational dialogue should be maintained in order to create favorable climate in the establishment of political and economic cooperation between the two parties. We think that the dialogue on topical problems of social life and the globalization can be conducted between the traditional Churches of the West and the Russian Orthodox Church.
We think that in the world, where the conflicts of identity arise, it is important to harmonize the relations between different religions within the united Europe as well as in the format of the Russian-European links. It should be taken in consideration that inter-religious relations exert influence on social life and activity of governments and social groups. It is necessary to tell straight that all the processes are influenced by distinct and even opposing views of humanitarian, Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox and Islamic traditions. In the framework of the globalization process the dialogue between different cultures becomes particularly important. The Bases of the Social Concept of the Russian Orthodox Church reads: ‘The spiritual and cultural expansion fraught with total unification should be opposed through the joint efforts of the Church, state structures, civil society and international organisations for the sake of asserting in the world a truly equitable and mutually enriching cultural and informational exchange combined with efforts to protect the identity of nations and other human communities (XVI, 3)’. The development of the European dialogue between representatives of different religious views may be a worthy contribution of the European civilization to the world system of governance.
For the information of the European Commission, we send you an extract from the Bases of the Social Concept of the Russian Orthodox Church, where the position of our Church on the topical problems of international relations and globalization is reflected. The Bishops’ Council approved this fundamental document in 2000 as a guideline for practical activities of our Church.
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