The Shepherd, November 2008
NEWS SECTION
PRIMATES’ MEETING
IN MID-OCTOBER, a three-day meeting of the primates of fourteen Autocephalous Orthodox Churches or their representatives, was held in Istanbul, attended by, among others, the Patriarchs of Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem and Moscow. On 12th October, from the Phanar, a “Message” was published by the Assembly. This message was divided into thirteen paragraphs. After an introduction, the hierarchs spoke of the need to promote the message of redemption to the whole world, but acknowledged that this also necessitated “overcoming internal conflicts of the Orthodox Church” so that Orthodoxy might have “a necessary impact” on the contemporary world. They spoke of mission, the need to indicate the causes of division in the world, to address secularism, the gap between rich and poor, the relationship between Faith and natural sciences, and ecological problems. They “saluted” the Russian and Georgian Churches for their fraternal co-operation during the recent conflict between those two nations. They addressed the need to support young people and the institution of the family, and ended with five points: to safeguard the unity of the Church, to heal canonical anomalies, to continue dialogue with other Christians and interreligious dialogues, to support initiatives to protect the natural environment, and to form an Inter-Orthodox Committee to study bioethics. Much of this is praiseworthy, but one is struck by the “worldly” tone of the message. Certainly it contains the occasional specifically Orthodox reference, but in general one has the feeling that the document might well have been drawn up in the sixties by an Anglican or Protestant convention. There is a busy-ness with dealing with “issues,” but no call to repentance, or to holiness. The very idea of concerning ourselves with making an “impact on the contemporary world” seems to be counter-traditional. St Antony lived as a hermit and yet the impact that he made on the world in his own time and for centuries aftewards is immense. Many of the saints of our own islands founded monasteries on isolated promontories and on rocks in the sea. Russia was “built” by Saint Sergius and others who left the world and went into the forests and wastes to be transfigured, and so brought blessing to generations and millions of their people. Now we are called upon to make an impact. Surely, the greatest “impact” we can make is by remaining faithful to the tradition which we have received, rather than adopting the by now rather out-dated models which have already proved themselves so ineffectual among Christians of the Western denominations.
SERBIAN PATRIARCH TENDERS RESIGNATION
FROM BELGRADE, the Associated Press issued the following statement on 24th October: “The Serbian Orthodox Church said Friday its head, Patriarch Pavle, has offered his resignation for health reasons. The church said on its Web site that Pavle, 94, has asked its top body, the Holy Synod, to release him from his duties at its next meeting on Nov. 11. Pavle has been hospitalized for months, suffering from heart and lung problems. A respected theologian and linguist also known for personal humility and modesty, Pavle took over the church leadership in 1990, just as the collapse of communism ended years of state policy of repressing religion. The Patriarch’s relationship with Slobodan Milosevic during the decade-long rule of Serbia’s autocratic leader was often controversial, with the church at times appearing to support Milosevic’s nationalist, militaristic policies. But Pavle played a major role in Milosevic’s ouster in 2000 by supporting the pro-democracy forces that toppled the former Serbian leader in a popular revolt. Pavle’s sometimes moderate policies have come under scrutiny from hardliners within the church, with nationalist priests likely to take over after the Holy Synod meeting.” We pray that the Lord now grant His Beatitude a period of quiet to prepare for his departure from this world and its turmoils.
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