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| Europe |
| Christians of Europe, Unite! |
| 2005-10-24 |
| It is difficult to hear anything about the state of Christianity in Europe today that doesn't describe a spiritual decline. Average church attendance in France, Sweden and the Netherlands is down to 10% in urban areas, compared to 60% in the 1960s, according to the Gordon Conwell Theological Institute in Boston. "There is no longer evidence for a need of God, even less of Christ" Pope Benedict XVI recently told Italian priests. "The so-called traditional churches look like they are dying." But the rising secular tide in the West has, quietly and behind-the-scenes, prompted the Eastern and Western churches to accelerate efforts at reconciliation. A possible reunification of the Christian Church and its combined 1.4 billion members isn't out of the question. The overtures were begun by the late Pope John Paul II -- the first Pope to visit Eastern Orthodox countries since the 1054 schism who was also the first to apologize for the 1204 Catholic sacking of Constantinople -- and continued by Benedict XVI. In a recent Common Declaration, the two churches acknowledged a "shared common ancestry." From the Vatican's own newspaper to Pravda, talk of unity is being taken seriously. Early feelers: Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras first 'communicate' in 1964. After several false starts, Rome and the Patriarchate of Constantinople -- the name still used for the "first among equals" of 15 autocephalous Eastern Orthodox churches -- held their first talks at the Vatican in June 2004. The meeting marked the first official step toward "full communion," the most critical standard in Christian doctrine of recognition between two churches or denominations, requiring total mutual agreement on the most essential aspects of church doctrine. This process began fitfully 40 years ago. At the 1964 Second Vatican Council, then-Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras of Constantinople terminated mutual ex-communication -- that is, the formal non-recognition of either church's jurisdictions -- between Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox for the first time since 1054. That was the year when centuries-long theological disputes within Christianity broke out in a doctrinal fight, permanently dividing the church. An earlier 4th and 5th century "Eastern" schism in the Church resulted in the so-called "Oriental" churches, such as the Coptic and the Armenian. These too have agreed to participate in the current reconciliation talks. Upon his ascension in April, Pope Benedict XVI made the "ecumenical movement" -- the idea of a universal Christian church -- his main goal. He will travel to Istanbul for further talks with Patriarch Bartholomeos in November. Pope John Paul II, according to his official biographer George Weigel, was practically obsessed with trying to achieve unity with Orthodoxy. For their part, the Eastern churches have extended a wary hand, following years of post-communist insecurity that reconciliatory overtures reflected the Vatican's strength vis-a-vis the Eastern church. While the Greek Church is more open to Rome, the Moscow patriarchate blocked a visit by Pope John Paul II in Russia, and only officially received Vatican officials last year. But the Russian church removed one obstacle to unity by canonizing the family of Tsar Nicholas II in August 2000, a move intended to put to rest concerns about its past ties with the Soviet regime. More than theological niceties are involved here. Both churches are facing an existential threat from secularism as well as their liberal offshoots in North America. At heart is the recognition that historical Christian heritage and identity are threatened. As Cardinal Walter Kasper, who coordinates ecumenical dialogue at the Vatican, recently noted in an address commemorating Vatican II's "Decree on Ecumenism": "There are problems
and new challenges
such as doctrinal and ethical liberalism as well as an aggressive fundamentalism by both old and new sects
There is the real danger of relativism and indifferentism." Much of the momentum toward unity may be credited to an institution with no official ties to either church. Pro Oriente was founded here in Vienna in 1965 by late Cardinal Franz König to strengthen "underground" relations between Rome and the non-communist Eastern Orthodox churches. König became something of an unofficial diplomat of the Vatican to the Soviet Bloc, and a legend in his own time. Later, König pushed the Church to take a clear stand against anti-Semitism, and acknowledge that the Jews should not be held responsible for the crucifixion. After a millennium apart, reconciliation won't be easy. One sore spot is the so-called Uniate problem: Eastern Catholics, predominantly in the mostly Orthodox Ukraine, follow Eastern "rites" but answer to Catholic Rome. Some Eastern Orthodox leaders consider the Uniates a menace. Eastern churches also look askance at Westerners who identify Christianity with political and social causes. Yet the Catholic Archbishop of Moscow, Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz, captured the current mood well. "Despite the difficulties," he said two years ago, "we hope that relations between the Orthodox and the Catholics will develop and preserve the Christian values in the life of Europe and the world." Ms. Kurapovna, a writer in Vienna, is working on a book on Byzantium. |
| Posted by:too true |
| #17 nice close-minded bigotry on your part means all submissions and comments gets the IDIOT treatment...thanks for the "bright light o' exposure". |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-10-24 23:12 |
| #16 Gosh Vlad, thanks. Your blinding wisdom has caused me to see the light. I will denounce all ideas of faith, hope, charity and forgiveness right this moment and demand that all Muslim grandmothers, grandfathers, mothers, fathers, and children who live peaceful lives be burned at the stake this very moment. And then why stop there? let's burn all the God believers to make the world safe for the pure and holy non-believers such as yourself. |
| Posted by: 2b 2005-10-24 23:07 |
| #15 thanks Vlad - rot in hell |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-10-24 22:19 |
| #14 Screw god believers of all stripes. Jesus Christ is nothing but the name of a dead parasitic lazy bum, whose pacifism nearly brought down the West. Civilization stagnated until religious wars forced Europeans to set up Secular States. The current "faith based" occupation, will be lifted and our enemies will be destroyed. If the White House was not being run by a platitudinous religous crackpot, then Western grievances against Eastern barbarism would be channelled against Koranimal savages. A war against Muslim terror cannot be won when a US President denies that jihad conscription bounds 100% of Muslims, to terror war. Rantburgers who celebrate the subsidized Islamism of Afghanistan and Iraq, would do well to take off their "faith based" blinders, and add up the costs and benefits of the hundreds of billions of dollars spent on those 2 demographic garbage dumps. You write off bad investments; why not write off useless people? Last dig: hey pious prayer monkeys! Given that the light flowing from some distant stars was generated 3 billion light years ago, how can creation have occurred a couple of years before the Egyptian pyramids were built? Hmmm...why do I suspect ad hominen thinking? |
| Posted by: Vlad the Muslim Impaler 2005-10-24 21:35 |
| #13 the idea of a universal Christian church -- and let me guess, he'll get to wear the big hat! |
| Posted by: 2b 2005-10-24 14:28 |
| #12 Forget Catholic, forget Orthodox, forget all the schisms, if who ever is standing in the pulpit is preachin straight from the Bible and not from Political Correctness, something strange happens. More people in that church's neighborhood start showing up. No matter what part of the planet that church sits on. Works everytime. |
| Posted by: RG 2005-10-24 14:22 |
| #11 Big churches, like big governments and big businesses, are removed from the needs of their adherents. The Islamic faith follows the franchise model (as does evangelical christianity) and is more successful these days. Of more interest than consolidating churches is the fact that U.S. evangelical churches are now establishing missions in Europe, just as they have in Africa and Asia for centuries. |
| Posted by: DoDo 2005-10-24 12:47 |
| #10 One religion is growing much faster, and its adherents are true believers. Nihilism! Fight over who will be pope though. |
| Posted by: Master of Obvious 2005-10-24 10:53 |
| #9 A big flaw in Xtianity is its willingness to try and co-opt pagan rituals. Ironically, in trying to subvert paganism, it has preserved paganism. Even in middle Europe, many rural towns still boast maypoles, and their Xtian holidays are as blended with paganism as is voodoo. In northern Europe, the stern-jawed and unpleasant state-sponsored Protestant Xtianity is dying, and the Asatru (Aesir) gods and goddesses have idols in increasing numbers of residences. The irony is reserved for those who see Xtianity as the only force capable of restraining Islam. In a way, this is true, but only in Africa, where Anglicanism is making major inroads against the Moslem. In Europe, cultural forces and secularism itself stands against them. Their pacifism and multiculturalism are deceptive, for unlike Americans, who are generally moderate about these things, Europeans tend to vacillate between this pacifism, as one extreme, and barbaric xenophobia on the other. In time, I would not be surprised seeing the continentals behaving towards Moslems much like the Serbs did in the Balkans' war, not too long ago. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2005-10-24 10:47 |
| #8 The Freemasonry influence is at the heart of the conspiracy stuff regarding Calvi's murder in from Blackfriar's Bridge and Marcinkus', "God's Banker", trial involving the Vatican bank and the Mafia. The tidbits about French cathedrals is interesting, as these ecumenical conferences have been hosted in Lyons. All the negative press has them hurting for funds, I suspect, and the hierarchy is accustomed to quite a lavish lifestyle. The true gospel is free. |
| Posted by: Danielle 2005-10-24 10:20 |
| #7 The big problem in Europe was with State religions the state chose each church's pastor and paid for the church. To be successful a church should be an enterpise subscribe to by its members. Put another way the EU churches are welfare states. The US churchs live or die like workers and companies. They have welfare disease. It's that simple. |
| Posted by: 3dc 2005-10-24 10:08 |
| #6 Dumb idea that would only alienate the faithful of each tradition and fail to attract the current unfaithful. Each church has been around a long time with a long tradition of surviving good and bad times. This too shall pass. A consolidation would be an indication of industry contraction. |
| Posted by: Omerert Pholing8181 2005-10-24 09:34 |
| #5 Not likely they'll go that way. The eastern churches are pretty well rooted even after communism. |
| Posted by: raised Eastern Orthodox 2005-10-24 09:16 |
| #4 If unity means the Eastern Orthodox churches adopt or accommodate the suicidal policies of the Western Euro churches, then I advise them to run away as fast as they can. |
| Posted by: ed 2005-10-24 09:05 |
| #3 Damn, my "conspiracy mode on" tag has been swallowed by Rantburg! |
| Posted by: anonymous5089 2005-10-24 08:50 |
| #2 Not to be conspiracy-oriented, but I do believe that the (all in all recent) secularization of Western Europe is mostly voluntary. << IMHO it's due to the shift to the left undergone with the 60's "revolution" (the Frankfurt school's neo-left and its engineering of all the "isms" in the name of the marxist notion of "progress"); Atomic Conspiracy's idea of the embrace of so-called counterculture by the mass media certainly fits in that process. Add the disastrous Vatican II, the 60-70's influence of communism and free masonry in Catholic church (I'm not being conspiratorial either, french catholic hierarchy is quite influenced by freemasonry, see for example the masonic symbols-ridden Evry new cathedral, or the fact that bishops are designated by the interior minister, who is always a free mason), and you've got a *very* ill Church, with lots of recruitment problems, while for example the traditionalist catholic movements who still use the Pie V liturgy are full of young people and offer many seminarists. Note that traditional catholics in France still have LOTS of babies, 5-6 is not uncommon. Also, in France there is a "tradition" of atheism and anticlericalism enforced by free masonry, (the main Fm lodge in France is atheist and socialist in a "3rd Republic kind of way", not to mention deeply associated with trotskysts), while traditional anglosaxon FM are deist and conservative. All in all, I'm not talking about "satanic forces", but rather of a culture war lost by the Western civilization (destroying western civilization to let the "progress" triumphes was/is one of the main aim of marxism) in western Europa, while it still is raging in the USA. I take this was easier in Europa because democracy was there built against "tradition", in tabula rasa revolutions, while in the USA it was built on it, following the example of GB. This vaccuum is very sad, because what was supposed to fill it was itself a lie and a failure, IE marxist Paradise on Earth. Now, there is only hedonism, materialism, nihilism (hence the lack of life and babies), and in the near future, islam. |
| Posted by: anonymous5089 2005-10-24 08:49 |
| #1 Reuniting the Church would indeed be a historical event of great importance. It'll still take 20-50 years to complete, if it happens at all. |
| Posted by: gromky 2005-10-24 08:45 |