wfn.org | Title: WCC: Orthodox affirm 'costly' commitment

["WCC Media" <Media@wcc-coe.org>]

World Council of Churches * Press Update
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - 03/12/2003 - pu-03-49

 Orthodox Patriarchate affirms "costly" commitment to WCC

 Cf. WCC Press Release PR-03-35 of 25 November 2003

			   Free high resolution photo available
(see below)

The Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I has re-affirmed his
commitment to
ecumenical dialogue and to the work of the World Council of
Churches (WCC),
and has appealed to Christians of all confessions to avoid
actions which
"stabilize" and "legitimize" disunity among the churches.

The comments were made during the official visit of WCC general
secretary
Rev. Dr Konrad Raiser to the Ecumenical Patriarchate, based in
Istanbul,
Turkey, 29 November to 3 December 2003.

"We support the efforts of the World Council of Churches and of
all other
inter-church and inter-Christian organizations. We consider
these
organizations not as a kind of unity () but as an opportunity
of dialogue
and witness to our hope () in the unity of the faith and the
knowledge of
the Son of God," the patriarch stated.

However, the patriarch added that "our Church is opposed () to
every
action which tends to stabilize the existing division and to
promote
methods of unity that deviate from the apostolic ideal ()
without
returning to the one faith, one baptism, and the one icon of
Christ."

The position of the Patriarchate was confirmed during talks with
the
Synodical Commission on Inter-Church Affairs, the highest
decision-making
body of the Patriarchate on ecumenical relations. Metropolitan
Gennadios of
Sassima, a member of the Commission, confirmed the active
participation of
the Ecumenical Patriarchate in the ecumenical movement and in
the WCC,
although he noted that this had been a "costly commitment".

The moderator of the Commission, Metropolitan Athanasios of
Heliopolis,
expressed the deep appreciation of the Ecumenical Patriarchate
for the
service of Rev. Dr Konrad Raiser, who had been a "theologian of
ecumenical
space", and had responded to the concerns of the Orthodox
churches with
particular sensitivity. In recent years, the Ecumenical
Patriarchate has
given strong support to the work of the Special Commission on
Orthodox
Participation in the WCC, established in 1998 following mounting
criticism
of the WCC from several Orthodox member churches.

The recent terrorist violence in Turkey was also discussed with
the church
leadership. The WCC general secretary said that he fully shared
the
patriarchs sentiments of profound compassion and sympathy for
the victims
- Muslim, Jewish and Christian - of the recent attacks. He
underlined that
the visit of the WCC delegation should be understood as "an
expression of
our commitment to peace and reconciliation, which is at the
centre of our
common Christian faith".

The tragic events, the general secretary stated, "could only
strengthen our
efforts to overcome religious extremism, and to proclaim that at
the heart
of the traditions of all the Abrahamic religions is the divine
promise of
peace and well-being of all humanity and creation".

The Ecumenical Patriarchate was one of the founding members of
the WCC in
1948, and enjoys a "primacy of honour" among the Orthodox
churches, related
to the ancient status of Constantinople as capital of the
Eastern Roman
Empire. The visit of the WCC general secretary took place during
the feast
of Saint Andrew, patron saint of the Church of Constantinople,
and
coincided with the traditional visit to the Patriarchate of a
delegation of
the Roman Catholic Church led by Cardinal Walter Kasper.

In addition to private audiences with the ecumenical patriarch
and
attendance at the liturgy in the patriarchal Cathedral of Saint
George, the
WCC delegations four-day programme included a meeting with
the Armenian
Patriarch Mesrop II, and visits to Christian sites in Istanbul,
Ephesus and
Izmir.

The WCC general secretary was accompanied by his wife Dr
Elisabeth Raiser,
by WCC deputy general secretary Mr Georges Lemopoulos, and by
Rev. Sabine
Udodesku, executive secretary. Rev. Dr Konrad Raiser will retire
at the end
of 2003. It was thus his last official visit to a member church
before he
leaves the WCC.

A free high resolution photo is available at:
http://www.wcc-coe.org/wcc/who/phanar-high.html 

For more information contact:
	 Media Relations Office
 tel: (+41 22) 791 64 21 / (+41 22) 791 61 53
 e-mail:media@wcc-coe.org 
 http://www.wcc-coe.org 

 The World Council of Churches is a fellowship of churches, now
342, in
 more than 120 countries in all continents from virtually all
Christian
 traditions. The Roman Catholic Church is not a member church
but works
 cooperatively with the WCC. The highest governing body is the
assembly,
 which meets approximately every seven years. The WCC was
formally
 inaugurated in 1948 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Its staff is
headed by
 general secretary Konrad Raiser from the Evangelical Church in
Germany.