Fraternal bonds

Its name means “bond of unity”. In fact, it was founded with the purpose of creating fraternal relations among the youth of the large Orthodox world for a more incisive testimony of Christianity. It is Syndemos, a federation uniting youth movements and theological schools of the Orthodox churches. It operates also at ecumenical level and counts 146 members of 42 different Countries. SPYROS TSIMOURIS, the secretary general of Syndesmos was present at the XV International ecumenical conference “Transfigured Christ in the Orthodox Spiritual Tradition”, recently held at the Monastery of Bose. These were his words to SIR Europe about the activities of the federation and the relationship between the youth and the Churches.A BOND OF UNITY . In 1953, in France, a group of young orthodox theologians gave life to a cooperative effort aimed at overcoming the local views of autocephalous churches by appealing to a sense of fraternity within the common world mission. It was given the name of Syndesmos, “unity bond”. To this was added the ecumenical concern and dialogue with other Christian confessions. By bringing together young people from all over the world, Syndesmos has today become the place where young Christians experience their enthusiasm and where they can ask questions and seek answers from the ecclesial hierarchy in total freedom. Often the Church addresses the youth as if they were a separate subject: in relation to issues such as charity in the places of mission. The Church is concerned “for” the youth and organizes activities “with” the youth. Instead Syndemos affirms the idea that the youth are a part of the Church, they represent one of its voices which is able to grasp both its beauties and its contradictions.WITHIN THE CHURCHES . Syndesmos is presently the only inter-orthodox association which has been granted recognition by all the churches. Its initiatives are attended by representatives of the member associations following the bishops’ invitation. Joint work is aimed at unifying the orthodox world, modifying the limits of the synod system regulating the churches’ organization. For example, it is commonly spoken of “the Russian Orthodox Church” and “the Greek Ortodox Church” while it would be more accurate to speak of “the Orthodox Church in Russia” and “the Orthodox Church in Greece”.Another problem is related to the presence of Orthodox Churches in Countries which by tradition don’t belong to our confession, and where often we are present but divided, according to ethnographic and nationalistic criteria. The so-called “Countries of the Diaspora” are those of Western Europe – France and England in particular – and the United States, with 5 different orthodox bishops. It should be kept in mind that ethnicism is a heresy condemned a long time ago, since it places the Gospel behind a way of thinking and the sense of belonging to a nation. In addition to intra-ecclesial dialogue, the federation in committed in implementing theological reflection within the framework of contemporary realities. Syndesmos held a conference fifteen years ago at the end of which was presented a list of 30 questions; these concerned the Orthodox Christians’ unity, the problem of the diaspora, the position of the laity and of women inside the Church, ecumenical dialogue and liturgical renewal. We sent over three-hundred letters with these questions to the bishops of all Orthodox Churches and only received one reply. It came from bishop Anthony Bloom , from the Orthodox Church of England. This answer however was important to us since it admitted existing problems and the need to start a dialogue on these aspects.TOWARDS THE CHURCHES. The Ecumenical Council of Churches asked us to work at grass-root level by bringing together the youth – both Orthodox and from other Christian confessions- to arouse and nourish an ecumenical spirit. For this reason we have organized a series of meetings in several monasteries: in Belgium, Bose, Armenia and also in Rome at the Community of Saint Egidio, together with theological meetings on various aspects. Since we often say that Christianity is to be shown with facts, if in facts the Church shows it is able to dialogue with the youth, they will appreciate it. Young people’s sincerity towards the Church is always beneficial and their rejection of the Church can be interpreted theologically as a thrust for renewal. Responding to this expectation of authenticity represents the greatest possibility of bringing people together in post-modern times.