wfn.org | Orthodox participation higher than expected at assembly

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

Dec. 8, 1998	Contact: Tim Tanton·(615)742-5470·Nashville, Tenn.
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By Tim Tanton*

HARARE, Zimbabwe (UMNS) - The role of the Orthodox in the World Council
of Churches (WCC) has been a dominant challenge facing the
organization's Eighth Assembly, but, despite some strain, the level of
Orthodox participation in the meeting has been higher than many
expected.

"Some of the dire predictions about the lack of Orthodox participation
are not bearing out," said the Rev. Bruce Robbins, general secretary of
the United Methodist Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious
Concerns. 

Orthodox members of the WCC want a more active role in the direction of
the ecumenical movement. Just how that can be realized has been
discussed at length since the assembly opened Dec. 3 at the University
of Zimbabwe. The ecumenical organization, which consists of more than
330 churches, meets every seven years.

The issue of the Orthodox role in the WCC heated up last spring, when
the Eastern Orthodox Churches met to set provisions limiting
participation in the assembly. WCC General Secretary Konrad Raiser met
with the leadership a few months later, and relations have improved.

Since the last assembly in 1991, the Orthodox Church of Georgia has
pulled out of the WCC. The Bulgarians also have indicated they might
leave, and the Russian Orthodox have sent a substantially smaller
delegation to the assembly. The non-Slavic Orthodox, however, are very
much in evidence.

"All of the other churches are here in strength and determination," said
Jan Love, a WCC Central Committee member and United Methodist from
Columbia, S.C.

 Love, who has been involved with the WCC for more than two decades,
added that Orthodox participation at this assembly is, "in some respects
... at its height." 

During the discussion sessions, particularly those focused on developing
a policy statement called "Towards a Common Understanding and Vision of
the World Council of Churches," delegates from other traditions have
shown a willingness to hear the Orthodox and discuss how the
organization can be changed.

"This assembly has taken great pains to ensure that the Orthodox have an
opportunity to articulate their concerns and to be sure the organization
embraces them," Love said.

The "Common Understanding and Vision" statement, or CUV, is still on the
table. Love, a key figure in one of the CUV discussion sessions, said
she hopes the assembly completes the document in Harare. At that point,
it would become a key document that would inform the rest of the
council's work.

The WCC's moderator, His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of Cilicia (the
Armenian Orthodox Church), warned in his Dec. 4 report to the assembly
that Orthodox participation would decrease if the council doesn't
address the situation seriously.

"I want to emphasize that while there is no crisis in WCC-Orthodox
relations, the situation is, indeed critical," Aram said. "Unless the
assembly takes this present situation seriously, I fear that the
Orthodox participation will steadily dwindle. 

"It is my fervent hope that after the assembly, the leadership of the
World Council and the representatives of all Orthodox Churches embark on
a serious and comprehensive process of wrestling together in the
ecumenical spirit with all questions and concerns that are hampering  a
more organized and efficient Orthodox participation in the council."

The Orthodox "have come to regard the council as a Western, Protestant
and liberal movement in a milieu where Orthodoxy has been trying to
re-affirm itself by going back to its authentic roots," Aram said in his
report. He is the first Orthodox to serve as moderator of the
50-year-old WCC.

The WCC has taken steps to address the growing Orthodox frustration, he
said. "However, these council initiatives did not bring about any
substantial change in WCC-Orthodox relations."

Summarizing the Orthodox concerns, Aram said: "First, the council should
explore new forms of representation, participation and decision-making
which will bring the Orthodox Churches out of their minority situation
and enable them to play a more active role in all aspects of the
council.

"Second, the council, in shaping its programmatic framework, agenda
items and constitutional and structural aspects, must find ways to
reflect equally the convictions, sensitivities, traditions and
expectations of all member churches."

Throughout the discussions, Aram and other leaders have emphasized the
Orthodox ecumenical commitment.

 "One should not assume any lack of commitment to ecumenism by the
Orthodox," Robbins said. "Their commitment is as deep and foundational
as anybody's on the council."

Part of the problem involves the way in which decisions are made as the
WCC produces statements on social issues, Robbins explained. The
Orthodox Churches believe such statements must have more theological
underpinnings and be grounded in faith commitment, he said.

In his Dec. 4 report to the assembly, Raiser assessed the WCC's
decision- making process and possible changes.

The WCC's parliamentary decision-making process "is essentially a model
derived from political life and is not necessarily the best way to
express the self-understanding of a fellowship of churches," Raiser
said.

"Not only the Orthodox churches, but also many churches in Africa and
other parts of the Southern Hemisphere, follow different models, which
emphasize dialogue and consensus and the respect for hierarchy and
authority," he said.

"If the WCC is indeed to serve as a framework for opening ecumenical
space, the question should be asked whether the present form of
governance by majority rule is the most effective way to organize its
life," he said. The council could explore processes for formal
decision-making by consensus, he suggested.

At the beginning of the assembly, Bishop William Boyd Grove of
Charleston, W. Va., the chair of the United Methodist delegation, noted
that there is strain between the WCC and the Orthodox churches and said
that addressing that situation is a top priority.

"To me, the most important thing we can do is to leave here with a
strengthened commitment on behalf of all the member churches, including
the Orthodox," he said. "My No. 1 hope is that we will leave here with a
renewed commitment for the new millennium, and that the jubilee will
energize us for the future."

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*Tanton is news editor of United Methodist News Service.

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(615)742-5470
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