wfn.org | Episcopal and Orthodox dialogue will resume

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2000-023

Official dialogue with Orthodox will resume after years of 
suspension

by James Solheim

     (ENS) The official dialogue between the Episcopal Church and 
the Orthodox will resume this year, following several years of 
suspension. The Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops 
in the Americas (SCOBA) suspended the dialogue in 1991 because of 
some developments in the Episcopal Church around sexuality 
issues.

     The goal of the reestablished dialogue is "to renew the 
friendly, historic relationship of the two churches," according 
to a statement released by the Rev. David Perry, the church's 
ecumenical officer, following a meeting of Episcopal and Orthodox 
leaders. "The many years of cooperation and friendship will 
provide a firm foundation and focus for the work of the dialogue 
participants in the years ahead," the statement said. 

     The Orthodox-Episcopal dialogue in the United States is 

among the oldest ecumenical relationships, the statement pointed 
out. "The new conversations will continue, deepen and honor the 
tradition of that friendship."

     In June of 1991 Archbishop Iakovos, primate of the Greek 
Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America, notified the 
Episcopal Church that the church's synod of bishops vote to 
suspend dialogue "resulted from recent developments such as the 
ordination of women, including one who is a practicing lesbian, 
and a recent article by Bishop Spong which characterized the 
Apostle Paul as a homosexual."

     The decision was reviewed at a fall meeting of SCOBA, which 
represents 10 Orthodox churches. It sustained the suspension of 
dialogue with the Episcopal Church and membership in the National 
Council of Churches.

     Former Presiding Bishop Edmond L. Browning said that he was 
"encouraged" by a private meeting with Iakovos in October. The 
church leaders agreed that, to remain faithful to the central 
task of seeking Christian unity, churches must consult with each 
other as they face fundamental issues.

     Despite the suspension "the friendships remained strong and 
they even deepened," said Bishop Richard Grein of New York, who 
will co-chair the dialogue committee. "These are our oldest 
partners so we are delighted to be back in official dialogue." 
Grein visits the Russian Orthodox Patriarch in Moscow and the 
Ecumenical Patriarch in Istanbul every year to keep the lines of 
communication and consultation open. "And locally in New York in 
recent years the relations have never been better," he added.

     Despite some tensions, there have also been significant 
common agreements in the past, the statement emphasized. In the 
ecumenical setting there are key issues on which Orthodox and 
Episcopalians have great agreement. And the conversation has been 
encouraged by the recent visits of Presiding Bishop Frank T. 
Griswold to Moscow and Istanbul and by the on-going international 
Orthodox-Anglican Dialogue.

     A steering committee has been established that includes 
Orthodox representatives: Bishop Dimitrios of Xanthos, the Very 
Rev. Leonid Kishkovsky, the Rev. Robert Stephanopoulos, and the 
Rev. Paul Schneirla. Episcopal representatives are: Bishop 
Richard Grein, the Rev. John Backus, the Rev. J. Robert Wright 
and Perry. The dialogue is scheduled to resume this November.

--James Solheim is director of the Episcopal Church's Office of 
News and Information.