Common Heritage, Divided Communion: The Declines and Advances of Inter-Orthodox Relations from Chalcedon to Chambésy

285 Pages·2009·2.829 MB·English

by  Kenneth Yossa

Common Heritage, Divided
Communion: The Declines and
Advances of Inter-Orthodox
Relations from Chalcedon to
Chambésy
Gorgias Eastern Christian Studies
11
Gorgias Eastern Christian Studies brings to the scholarly world the
underrepresentedfieldofChristianityasitdevelopedintheEastern
hemisphere. This series consists of monographs, collections of
essays, texts and translations of the documents of Eastern
Christianity, and studies of topics relevant to the unique world of
historic Orthodoxy and early Christianity.
Common Heritage, Divided
Communion: The Declines and
Advances of Inter-Orthodox
Relations from Chalcedon to
Chambésy
Kenneth F. Yossa
9
34
2009
Gorgias Press LLC, 180 Centennial Ave., Piscataway, NJ, 08854, USA
www.gorgiaspress.com
Copyright © 2 0 0 9 by Gorgias Press LLC
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright
Conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise without the
prior written permission of Gorgias Press LLC.
2009 ܓ 9
ISBN 978-1-60724-067-9
ISSN 1539-1507
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Yossa, Kenneth F.
Common heritage, divided communion : the declines and
advances of inter-Orthodox relations from Chalcedon
to Chambésy / Kenneth F. Yossa. -- 1st Gorgias Press
ed.
p. cm. -- (Gorgias Eastern Christian studies ; 11)
Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and
index.
1. Orthodox Eastern Church--Relations--Oriental
Orthodox churches. 2. Christian union--Orthodox
Eastern Church. 3. Oriental Orthodox
churches--Relations--Orthodox Eastern Church. 4.
Christian union--Oriental Orthodox churches. I.
Title.
BX324.45.Y67 2009
281'.5--dc22
2008050666
Printed in the United States of America
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Preface.....................................................................................................................vii
Abbreviations..........................................................................................................xi
1. The Synaxis of Church and Society in the Ancient Christian East........1
The Organization and State of the Church.........................................................1
Great Sees of the Christian East...........................................................................5
2. Anatomy of a Schism..................................................................................23
Two Emerging Theologies..................................................................................23
The Road to Chalcedon.......................................................................................42
Alexandrine Christianity and the Imperial Far East.......................................65
The Twilight of Reconciliation...........................................................................84
3. Dialogue for a New Millennium: Ecumenical Engagement.................95
The Genesis of Modern Rapprochement.........................................................95
The Unofficial Consultations/Conferences: 1964–1971...............................99
Active Intermission: 1971–1978......................................................................106
The Dialogues: 1979–1993................................................................................110
Shifting Dynamics: Encounters after Chambésy, 1993................................129
Aarhus to Chambésy: the Central Issues........................................................138
4. Prospects for Inter-Orthodox Reconciliation.......................................167
Achievements......................................................................................................167
Language and Reality.........................................................................................168
Ecumenical Antipathy and Ennui....................................................................187
Conclusion: Unity and the Third Millennium................................................221
The State of the Churches and Future Unity.................................................221
Cui Bono?............................................................................................................230
Appendix: Listing of Papers Presented at the Inter-Orthodox Consultations
and the Fourth Dialogue...................................................................................233
Bibliography........................................................................................................238
Index.....................................................................................................................261
v

PREFACE
In 1989 a joint ecumenical conference of theologians representing churches
of the Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox1 communions, signed the
“Agreed Statement” at Wadi el-Natrun, outside Cairo. This historic event
represented fifteen years of fruitful ecumenical relations between the two
separated families of the Christian East. Perhaps the most significant result
of the Agreement was the recognition that Christ’s incarnate humanity and
divinity in the hypostatic union could be expressed validly through the “two
natures” formulation of the Council of Chalcedon (451) and the
Alexandrine or Cyrillian school’s received “single nature” model. This event
also anticipated the hope of a similar declaration by the supreme hierarchs
of the respective Orthodox churches on behalf of their synods, clergy and
faithful that could lead to eventual communion of the two bodies.
However, since the end of the official (plenary) inter-Orthodox dialogues in
the 1990s, most Orthodox jurisdictions have neither formally nor explicitly
acknowledged the results of the ecumenical rapprochement, nor its
implications for the Church; a few have affirmed portions of it and others

1 The terms Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox used throughout this work
are generally accepted designations for these churches in ecumenical venues.
Eastern Orthodox refers to the Church of Constantinople (Byzantium) and other
churches historically within its communion. These include the ancient
autocephalous (“self-heading”) churches of Antioch, Jerusalem, Georgia and
Cyprus, the later-developing autocephalous churches of Russia, Serbia, Romania,
Bulgaria, Greece, Poland, Albania, the Czech Lands and Slovakia, Mount Sinai,
Finland, and the Orthodox Church of America. (The autocephaly of the Orthodox
Church of America and the autonomy of the churches of Estonia, Japan, China and
Ukraine remain in dispute among various canonical Eastern Orthodox bodies.)
Oriental Orthodox includes the ancient autocephalous churches of Alexandria
(Coptic) and Antioch (Syriac), the Armenian Apostolic Church (consisting of two
autocephalous churches), as well as the Malankara Church of India (comprising an
autocephalous church and an autonomous church dependent on Antioch), and the
autocephalous Ethiopian (“Tewahedo”) and Eritrean churches.
vii
viii COMMON HERITAGE, DIVIDED COMMUNION
have even condemned it. This situation reveals one of numerous, complex
issues which remain today in inter-Orthodox relations, and the multiple
steps still needed to establish communion between the two bodies. It forms
one of the numerous and significant challenges for contemporary inter-
Orthodox ecumenical relations, and one of the key areas of investigation in
this work.
Chapters one and two present the Sitz im Leben of the early Conciliar
period of the Church in the East, including numerous aspects of the social
and civic history which is inextricably bound with it; the forces and
movements leading to the convocation of the Council of Chalcedon; the
divisions following it, and abortive attempts to re-establish communion
before the Arab conquest. Chapter Three projects forward to the twentieth
century, providing an account of how various Orthodox bodies came to
accept and participate in the “ecumenical movement,” and particularly the
inter-Orthodox “unofficial” consultations held between 1964 and 1971 and
the four “official” dialogues held between 1985–1993. Chapter four and the
Conclusion provide an account of developments at the turn of the third
millennium, an analysis of successes and losses in the rapprochement, and
finally, my recommendations for reengaging the inter-Orthodox ecumenical
process, which has lost a certain momentum in very recent years.
As a matter of theological investigation, the unfolding work of
understanding between the Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Orthodox
Churches is among the most remarkable endeavors in modern ecumenism.
It also bears the greatest promise for what might eventually result in the
institutional integration of the two Orthodox families. This marvelous
endeavor, despite many setbacks, is strengthening the bonds of faith
between those who, until relatively recently, had little or no contact with
one another at the level of rapprochement. It is a gift to Christians in
general, showing us all that the churches and their faithful, without force or
contrivance, can “break down the walls of divisions and distrust [and]
overcome obstacles and prejudices which thwart the proclamation of the
Gospel of salvation in the Cross of Jesus.”2 Such an undertaking has also
borne fruit in ecumenical dialogue outside of Orthodoxy. Writing as an
Eastern Catholic, I especially note the historic ecumenical work of my own
communion with Oriental Orthodoxy, resulting in the joint Christological
declarations between Pope Paul VI and Syriac Patriarch Mar Ignatios Iacob

2 John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Ut Unum Sint, Vatican Translation, (May 25,
1995), 2.
PREFACE ix
III of Antioch (1971) and Coptic Pope Shenouda III of Alexandria (1973).
These concords, while directly attributable especially to the first (1971) Pro
Oriente consultation in Vienna, are also grounded in the inter-Orthodox
dialogue. “No doubt the lecturers and in general the participants of the
[first Vienna] Consultation had in mind and in remembrance the positive
results of the unofficial discussions between the Eastern Orthodox and
Oriental Orthodox theologians.”3
I have provided this book primarily as an introductory work variously
for students of ecclesiology, conciliar-era church history, and ecumenical
relations. I particularly hope that it will be useful to students in programs of
ministerial or catechetical formation. In presenting this work, it is also my
desire to make the exceptional efforts of the inter-Orthodox dialogue
partners better known and recognized, especially given the still-too frequent
ascriptions of monophysitism (especially among Western commentators) to
the Oriental Orthodox churches and their Church Fathers.
I want to express my deepest gratitude to numerous Orthodox hierarchs,
clergy, monastics and lay faithful—both Eastern and Oriental—and to
academic institutions connected with them in the United States,
Switzerland, Syria, Lebanon and India who gave generously of their time
and cooperation. In particular, I also wish to thank: the faculty and staff of
the University of Balamand, Lebanon and the staff of the library and
archives of the World Council of Churches; Dr. Gary Vachicouras
(Geneva), Mme. Mouna Malek (Damascus) and Dr. Christine Chaillot
(Paris); V. Rev. Nicolas Porter and Evelyne Roemer of Emmanuel
Episcopal Church, Geneva; and the V. Rev. K. M. George of the Indian
Orthodox Seminary in Kottayam, Kerala (India) who reviewed this work
and made valuable comments on it prior to publication; to Kevin Symonds
and Tammy-Jo Brenzo for their generous technical advice and assistance in
formatting the manuscript. My editor, Dr. Katie Stott, deserves particular
mention for her outstanding guidance and encouragement.
I also wish to mention here all of my family members, friends,
colleagues, former teachers and benefactors who, while too numerous to
name individually, provided indispensable moral, temporal and prayerful
support for the completion of this project. May God richly reward them.

3 Bishop Mesorob K. Krikorian, “The Theological Significance of the Results
of the Vienna Consultations,” The Vienna Dialogue: Five Pro Oriente Consultations with
Oriental Orthodoxy, Communiqués and Common Declarations, Booklet One, 11.