Stolen Churches or Bridges to Orthodoxy?: Volume 1: Historical and Theological Perspectives on the Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Dialogue (Pathways for Ecumenical and Interreligious Dialogue)

Throughout their shared history, Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches have lived through a very complex and sometimes tense relationship – not only theologically, but also politically. In most cases such relationships remain to this day; indeed, in some cases the tension has increased. In July 2019, scholars of both traditions gathered in Stuttgart, Germany, for an unprecedented conference devoted to exploring and overcoming the division between these churches. This book, the first in a two-volume set of the essays presented at the conference, explores historical and theological themes with the goal of healing memories and inspiring a direct dialogue between Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches. Like the conference, the volume brings together representatives of these Churches, as well as theologians from different geographical contexts where tensions are the greatest. The published essays represent the great achievements of the conference: willingness to engage in dialogue, general openness to new ideas, and opportunities to address difficult questions and heal inherited wounds. Preface Contents Notes on Contributors A First Step Toward the Dialogue Between Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches Historical Impulses Caught in the Crossfire: Toward Understanding Medieval and Early Modern Advocates of Church Union 1 Byzantine ἑνωτικοί: Prosopography 2 The Byzantine Henotic Movement in Historical Context 3 Early Modern Unionists and the Unionist Tradition 4 Modern Approaches to Unionists: A Critical Note 5 Moving Beyond the Neo-Scholastic and Neo-Patristic Paradigms 6 The Impasse of the Catholic/Orthodox Dichotomy and the Problem of Confessionalization 7 Conclusion: The Ecclesiological Liminality of the Henotic Tradition A Brief History of the Union of Brest and Its Interpretations 1 Introduction: Statement of Intent 2 Establishment of the Uniate Church 3 Points of Diversion in Interpretation 3.1 Was the Union a Break with Tradition? 3.2 Was Union a Plot by Rome and the Jesuits? 3.3 Were Pro-union Bishops Dogmatically Motivated? 3.4 What Is the Meaning of the “Superiority” of Polish Culture in the Sixteenth Century? 3.5 How Desperate Was the Pastoral Situation of the Orthodox Church in GDL? 4 Elimination of the Uniate Church 5 Points of Diversion in Interpretation 5.1 Were Belarusian Orthodox Actually “Re-united” with the Russian Orthodox? 5.2 Did Elimination of the Uniate Church Help to Protect Belarusian Population from Complete Polonization and Thus Protected Its Unique Cultural Diversity? 5.3 Was Siamashka a Hero or an Imperial Puppet? Union of Brest: Saints or Villains? 1 Introduction 2 Joseph Siamaška: Will the Icon of the Westernrussianism Become a Saint of the Orthodox Church? 2.1 Canonization Initiative 2.2 Analyses of the Pro and Contra Arguments Concerning Canonization of Siamaška 3 Evaluation of the Canonization Process 4 St. Josaphat Kuncevich and Other Saints of the Divided Church: Can They Go Beyond the Walls That Separate Us? 4.1 History: “Persecutor of Orthodoxy” or “Apostle of Unity”? 4.2 Theology of martyrdom: “Ecumenism of Blood” 4.3 Conclusion “Kyivan Christianity”: Early Modern Cultural History and Impulses for Dialogue Between Churches in Ukraine 1 Kyivan Christianity: New Inclusive Concept? 2 Monasteries of Kyivan Christianity Tradition: A Case Study 3 Conclusion Identity and Institutional Allegiance in Romanian Uniate Church History (1700–1900) 1 Introduction 2 About the Institutional Relationship 3 The Fight for the “Byzantine Tradition” in the Synodal Documents 4 Conclusions The Judicial and Canonical Situation of the Romanian Byzantine Catholics in Hungary Around 1900 1 Romanian Greek Catholicism Between the Oriental Tradition in Transylvania and the Latinising Tendencies in Hungary 1.1 The Apostolic Visit to Transylvania (1858) 1.2 The Transylvanian Movement for the Defence of Eastern Traditions: Votes Expressed at the 1869 Synod in Favour of Establishing a Mixed Ecclesiastic Congress 2 Provocations Posed by the Movement for “Catholic Autonomy” in Hungary 2.1 The “Broad” Sense of Church Autonomy in a Hungarian Context 2.2 The Congresses for Hungarian Catholic Autonomy in the Years 1870–1871 and 1897–1902 2.3 Church Autonomies Accepted by the Hungarian Government 3 The “Romanian Church United with Rome” (Also Called Romanian Greek Catholic Church), from Transylvania and Hungary: Between Budapest and Rome 3.1 Budapest’s Tendencies to Integrate the RCUR into the Hungarian Catholic Autonomy 3.2 The Latinising Measures Adopted by Provincial Councils 3.3 The Persistence of the Desire to Adopt Autonomy in a Broad Sense Within the RCUR 3.4 Interconfessional Polemics 4 Conclusion The Bulgarian Orthodox Church and Its Perception of the Bulgarian “Uniates” 1 Origin and Development of the Catholic Church of the Eastern Rite in Bulgaria 2 The Relationship of the Bulgarian Orthodox Christians to the “Uniates” 2.1 The Latinization Process and the Change in the Self-Perception of the “Uniates” in Bulgaria 2.2 Dynamics of the Relationship Between the Two Churches 2.3 Current Perceptions The Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Bishops at the Second Vatican Council: The Participation in the Council and Contribution to the Discussions of Conciliar Documents 1 Activity and Development of the Ukrainian Bishops’ Conference During the Second Vatican Council 1.1 The Ukrainian Bishops at the Beginning of the Second Vatican Council 1.2 The Ukrainian Bishops’ Conference and Its Formation 1.2.1 The Attempts of Formation of the Ukrainian Bishops’ Conference Before the Second Vatican Council 1.2.2 The Difficulties in the Work of the Ukrainian Bishops’ Conference at the Time of the Council 1.3 The Activity of the Ukrainian Bishops During the Council 1.3.1 The Work of Ukrainian Bishops in the Preparatory Commissions 1.3.2 The Participation of the Ukrainian Bishops in the Conciliar Commissions 1.3.3 The Contribution of the Ukrainian Bishops to Six Conciliar Documents 2 Metropolitan Maxim Hermaniuk: Ukrainian Father of Collegiality 2.1 Intervention on De Ecclesia 2.2 Interventions on the Decree De Episcopis ac de Diocesium Regimine 3 The Ukrainian Commentaries on Selected Sections of the Decrees Unitatis Redintegratio and Orientalium Ecclesiarum 3.1 Reflections of the Ukrainian Hierarchs on Section 18 of the Third Chapter of the Decree Unitatis Redintegratio 3.1.1 The Comments of Bishop Volodymyr Malanczuk on Paragraph 18 3.1.2 The Comments of Metropolitan Maxim Hermaniuk on Paragraph 18 3.2 The Ukrainian Positions During the Discussion of Orientalium Ecclesiarum 3.2.1 The Position of Metropolitan Josyf Slipyj with Regard to the Decree Orientalium Ecclesiarum 3.2.2 Remarks of Bishop Volodymyr Malanczuk About Sections 11 and 24–25 4 Conclusion The U.S.S.R., Greek Catholics, and the Vatican “Ostpolitik” in the 1960s–1970s: Grey Zone and the Stumbling Blocks Theological Impulses The Filioque Issue in the Light of the Catechism of the Ukrainian Catholic Church and in Dialogue with V. Bolotov’s “33 Theses” 1 The Catechism of the Ukrainian Catholic Church on the Procession of the Holy Spirit 2 Positive Elements 3 Problematic Elements 4 Application of the Bolotov’s 33 Theses 5 Points of Rapprochement Eastern Catholicism and the Reunion of the Churches in Vladimir Soloviev’s Political Ecclesiology 1 Was Soloviev a Convert to Eastern Catholicism? 2 All-Unity and the Union of the Churches 3 Orthodox Christian Politics and Soloviev’s Catholic Turn 4 Conclusion Eucharistic Ecclesiology in the Russian Religious Renaissance as Instruction in Orthodox - Eastern Catholic Ecumenism 1 The Value of Early Ecumenism 2 Productive Encounters Between East and West 3 Spiritual Communion in the Ecumenical Movement 4 Bulgakov’s Ecumenical Theology 5 “Una Sancta” 6 Ecumenism After Bulgakov 7 Conclusion Paul Evdokimov and Una Sancta: A Russian Orthodox Theologian in Search of Ecumenical Unity 1 A Russian Orthodox Theologian in the Western World in Search of Church Unity 2 Theological Principles for Ecumenical Unity 3 Three Theological Issues for Ecumenical Discussion 4 Concluding Reflections The Specificity of the Greek-Catholic Ecclesiology in the Thinking of the Romanian Theological School 1 Introduction 2 Theological Basis of the Unity 3 The Historical Context of Churches Union in the Central and Eastern Europe 4 Theology of the Declaration of Unification Between the Eastern Churches and the Church of Rome 5 The Greek-Catholic Theological Writings in Transylvania 6 Greek-Catholic Theology After the 1990s 7 Conclusions Synodical Principle as the Key to Church Unity 1 General Theological Principles 2 The Documents of the Council of Crete and the Chieti Document 3 Towards a Common Basis of Synodality Church as Koinonia: Exploring the Ecumenical Potential of John Zizioulas’s Communio Ecclesiology 1 The Central Features of John Zizioulas’s Communio Ecclesiology 1.1 The Ontology of Person 1.1.1 Trinitarian Personhood 1.1.2 Human Personhood 1.2 The Church 1.2.1 Identity 1.2.2 Sacraments 1.2.3 Structure and Offices 2 Some Critical Assumptions of John Zizioulas’s Ecclesiological Method 3 A Way Forward Theological Reflections on the Dialogue with the Orthodox Church from an Eastern Catholic Perspective 1 State of the Question 2 The Need for the Dialogue, and Obstacles on the Way of Achieving It 3 The Role of Theology 4 Thematic Areas 5 Methodological Considerations 6 Expectations and Perspectives The Question of “Uniatism” in the Framework of the Orthodox-Catholic Dialogue and the Ecclesiological Option of Communio 1 The Limits of Uniatism 2 Ways of Reconciliation 3 Freising and Balamand: What Did They Bring? 4 The Ecclesiology of Communion and the Future of the Byzantine Catholics 5 Concluding Remarks Index "Throughout their shared history, Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches have lived through a very complex and sometimes tense relationship --not only theologically, but also politically. In most cases such relationships remain to this day; indeed, in some cases the tension has increased. In July 2019, scholars of both traditions gathered in Stuttgart, Germany, for an unprecedented conference devoted to exploring and overcoming the division between these churches. This book, the second in a two-volume set of the essays presented at the conference, explores the ecumenical and practical implications of the relationship between Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches. Like the conference, the volume brings together representatives of these Churches, as well as theologians from different geographical contexts where tensions are the greatest. The published essays represent the great achievements of the conference: willingness to engage in dialogue, general openness to new ideas, and opportunities to address difficult questions and heal inherited wounds." --Provided by publisher