Ecumenism is what? History of Ecumenism

Ecumenism refers to the movement of Christian churches against disunited and hostile relations between church forces. Ecumenism is the desire for cohesion of religious communities on a global scale. The first references to the ecumenical movement arose in the early twentieth century. Thanks to the Protestant churches of the United States and Western Europe, ecumenism has spread throughout the next half century and has been recognized by the World Assembly of Churches. This organization strongly supported ecumenical sentiments, which in the 1950s led to the creation of the World Council of Churches, the body responsible for the unification and coordination of activities carried out by ecumenical church organizations. With the help of the material presented below, having received and analyzed information from it, you will be able to form your position on this movement and complete the proposal "Ecumenism is ..." by yourself.

Definition of ecumenism

The word "ecumenism" comes from the Greek oikoumene, which means "the promised world, the Universe" in Russian. The meaning of the name of the world view fully justifies its policy aimed at creating a universal Christian belief, capable of uniting all categories of the population.

To unification we are called by the main Divine message - the Bible. The Gospel of John (17, 21) speaks of the commandment "Let all be one." Biblical society strived for interdenominational unity of activity throughout its existence, and ecumenism is a way of translating unlimited hopes for religious integration.

The basic, doctrinal basis of ecumenism lies in faith in the Triune God. "Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior" - this is how the unanimous dogmatic minimum of the ecumenical worldview sounds.

The Chronicles: The History of Ecumenism

Despite the fact that the appearance of ecumenism dates only in 1910, at the beginning of the two thousand-year history of Christianity institutions that preached this religion were called ecumenical councils, and the Patriarch of Constantinople awarded the heroes with the "ecumenical" title. Nevertheless, the desire for universal unity constantly rivaled religious fragmentation, which ultimately led to the emergence of such new formations as schisms, sects and branches of Christianity. So, ecumenism is a religion with a history.

The church began to search for a solution to the problem in the 10th century of the twentieth century, when the Edinburgh missionary conference was held. The meeting discussed the importance and priority of interdenomination interaction in spite of any confessional borders.

The foreseeable history of ecumenism continued in 1925. At one of the General Christian conferences, the question of the general Christian position and the ways of its social, political or economic propaganda arose.

Three years later, Lausanne (a city in Switzerland) hosted the first World Conference "Faith and Order of the Church." Its theme was devoted to the founding of basic Christian unity.

With the slogans of Christian unity passed and subsequent meetings in 1937-1938, in England and the Netherlands, respectively. During these years, the World Council of Churches was established, whose meeting because of the outbreak of World War II was only possible after 10 years.

Holding bilateral meetings and theological dialogues of Churches with different traditions and confessions can be considered the main achievement of ecumenism.

Does ecumenism support world Christianity?

Ecumenism in the Orthodox Church was strengthened in 1961, after the Russian Orthodox Church joined the World Council of Churches.

Catholic Catholicism is characterized by an ambiguous attitude towards the ecumenical movement: in spite of the fact that the representatives of the Roman Catholic faith did not declare the complete rejection of ecumenism, they are not a part of it. Although, the Second Vatican Council of the Roman Catholic Church seemed to take a position reminiscent of the movement against ecumenism, emphasized the unnatural separation. "Splits disagree with the will of Christ," the 1964 decree "On Ecumenism" asserted. In addition, it should be noted that the leaders of this branch of Christianity take part in the activities of the commission "Faith and Order of the Church."

Interpretations of ecumenism

Ecumenists do not position themselves and their moods as a creed, ideology or church-political movement. No, ecumenism is an idea, a striving to fight against the split between the praying Jesus Christ.

Throughout the world, the semantic load of ecumenism is perceived in different ways, which, in turn, affects the problem of creating the final formulation of the definition of this movement. At the moment, the term "ecumenism" is divided into three semantic currents.

Interpretation No. 1. The purpose of ecumenism is the intercourse of Christian denominations

The problem of ideological and traditional differences, dogmatic differences of religious ramifications led to the absence of a dialogue between them. The ecumenical movement seeks to contribute to the development of Orthodox-Catholic relations. To deepen mutual understanding, coordinate and unite the efforts of Christian organizations in the non-Christian world in order to protect religious attitudes and feelings of the public, to solve social problems - such are the tasks of "public" ecumenism.

Interpretation No. 2. Liberalism in Ecumenism

Ecumenism calls for a general Christian union. The liberalism of the current consists in striving, according to the Orthodox Church, to create by artificial means a new belief that will contradict the existing one. The negative influence of ecumenism with a liberal bias has on apostolic continuity and dogmatic teachings. The Orthodox Church hopes to see the pro-Orthodox ecumenical movement, which, based on the latest developments in the world of ecumenists, is impossible.

Interpretation No. 3. The unification of world religions as a task of ecumenism

Esoteric writers regard ecumenism as a method of solving the problem of interreligious wars and misunderstandings. Ideas about a world dominated by a single religion are also characteristic of neo-pagans, admirers of the new-age worldview (new age). Such an ideology is a utopia not only in logical considerations: thus, such ecumenism in the Orthodox Church is not supported. And the position of the Patriarch of All Russia on the question is expressed in the complete denial of the false doctrine of creating a "universal" religion.

Orthodox ecumenism: good or evil?

In the above three main interpretations of ecumenism, the common features of certain goals of the ecumenical movement were considered. However, for sure to form a complete opinion on this doctrine, one should get acquainted with the position of the Patriarch of All Russia, Cyril.

According to the representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church, the impossibility of her complicity in movements with ecumenical sentiments in the 70-80s of the last century was caused by:

• A radical divergence of ecumenical statements with the teaching of the Orthodox Church (the perception of the main goals of faith in Christ is too strikingly different);
• Denying the possibility of combining the different in the dogmatic and doctrinal aspects of the Churches through the ecumenical movement;
• The proximity and affinity of ecumenism with the denied Russian Orthodox Church, politically minded or secret creeds;
• Complete inconsistency of the goals of the ecumenical worldview of the tasks of the Orthodox Church.

Acquaintance with ecumenism and its study in the twentieth century was accompanied by the appeal of the Russian Orthodox Church: "Christians of the whole world should not betray Christ and descend from the true path to the Kingdom of God. Do not waste your spiritual and physical strength, time to create alternatives to the righteous Christ Church. The temptation of the ecumenical church will not solve the difficulties of the unity of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches! "

The position of the Orthodox Church on ecumenism

At the moment about ecumenism, Cyril prefers to respond lightly and accurately: this movement in the modern religious world is gaining momentum, but the Orthodox Church has not formed a clear relation to ecumenical activity. So, ecumenism and patriarch Cyril - the concepts are compatible?

The patriarch in his interview says that, following ecumenism, we do not betray Orthodoxy, as many people believe.

"Before you make unfounded accusations, you should carefully sort out the situation, do not you? With the anti-ecumenical movement preceding the slogans: "Down with the heresy of ecumenism!", "We are against traitors to the Orthodox world!" It is very easy to make people think that ecumenism is part of the world revolution. In order to direct the efforts made by the ecumenists in the right direction, one should first of all conduct a serious, intelligent dialogue at the theological level. Crying debates will not help in solving the problem of rejection of this movement, "such is the ecumenism of Cyril.

It is too early to talk about a full-fledged eucharistic communion, as this genuine church-wide reconciliation has not taken place as such. The churches declare that there are no doctrinal differences and state that they are ready to make contact, but in the end ... Ecumenism in the modern religious world occurs: the Orthodox Communion of the Armenians, the Catholics - the Orthodox, if there is a need.

Is ecumenism reviving? Meeting of the Patriarch and the Pope

In the light of recent events, Cyril's support for ecumenism seems to be gaining more and more prominence. A significant meeting "Patriarch-Pope Ecumenism", which took place on February 12, 2016, became, according to some journalists and political scientists, a point of no return. With the conclusion of the declaration, the religious world turned upside down, and it is not known which forces can bring it back to its original position.

What was happening there at the meeting?

The meeting of representatives of two such relatives, but of such distant religious confessions - Patriarch Cyril and Pope Francis - stirred up all of humanity.

The heads of the two churches managed to discuss many questions regarding the direction of the development of Orthodox-Catholic relations. Eventually, after the conversation, a declaration was signed and signed about drawing humanity's attention to the problem of Christians in the Middle East region. "Stop the war and immediately begin to conduct operations for a peaceful settlement," the text of the document calls.

The conclusion of the declaration and the phenomenal beginning of the dialogue between the Russian Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches are the first step towards a flourishing interreligious movement. When meetings of this level take place, the future becomes brighter, with the doors opening leading to full-scale interfaith and interreligious cooperation. The latter will help solve global economic and social problems of civilization. A generation of humanity, in whose heart there is a place for God, there is also a hope for peaceful coexistence, without aggression, pain and suffering.