Thursday, June 19, 2008

Patriarch Bartholomew I: Return to Communion without breaking ties with Rome

Patriarch Bartholomew speaking at the Pontifical Oriental Institute in March.


I first saw this at Mike Aquilina's and have been digging around to get more information.

Briefly, the head of the Greek Orthodox Church and the Ecumenical Patriarch of the Orthodox world has suggested that Eastern Catholics (or, specifically, Greek Catholics) could return to communion with the Orthodox church without breaking their communion with the Bishop of Rome. The model to be used is that of the relations between the Byzantine Churches and Rome in the first millennium.

He's also expressed appreciation for the idea of "dual-unity" proposed by the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Cardinal Lubomyr Husar.

The report at Fr. Gregory's blog (an Orthodox priest), which links to the original German story at KATH.net. Same story, same details at the Religious Information Service of Ukraine (English).

Discussion of this at a Byzantine Catholic forum.

The details are just too sketchy right now. And one is obviously left asking many questions, especially, just what would this Communion with the Orthodox look like? Juridically? Practically? And just what are the details of Cardinal Husar's proposal for "dual unity"? Eirenikon asks similar questions. As do the commenters at Rorate Caeli.

I'm still looking for details of Cardinal Husar's proposal, as well as the text of the Patriarch's interview.

However, I should say: of course this raises all sorts of questions. And of course the orthodox are not monovocal. (I wonder what Patriarch Alexei in Moscow would have to say?). But it seems to me to be a big deal that the Ecumenical Patriarch is even proposing that Eastern Catholics could be a bridge to unity, rather than the obstacle that they have often been regarded as by the Orthodox.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

hoo RAY deo gratias