Christians in Europe

A Conference of all Christian Churches in Europe that the Catholic Church is called to attend. The proposal had been circulating for years in the ecumenical environment. In his address delivered July 20 in Lyon for the 50th anniversary of the European Churches Conference, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomaios I re-launched the proposal, which was received with a standing ovation by participants. The audience was composed by 750 delegates of 126 CEC member Churches (Orthodox, Anglican, Protestant and Old Catholic Churches), gathered in the French city for the 13th General Assembly of the Conference of European Churches. Catholic Church representatives equally attended the meeting, notably the archbishop of Lyon, Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, and Father Duarte da Cunha, CCEE Secretary General.The words of the Patriarch. “It is only by engaging in dialogue and by closely cooperating that the churches will prove capable of proclaiming the Gospel of Christ to the world in a convincing and effective way”, these were the opening words of the much awaited speech of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Batholomaios I to CEC delegates. The Patriarch spoke of the future developments of the ecumenical movements in Europe: “I should like to emphasize that cooperation between CEC and the Council of European Bishops’ Conferences has been essential and constructive. In order to improve this ecumenical commitment, I am proposing to set up a better organized and structured way of co-operations”. Although the Catholic Church is not CEC member, her relationship with CEC is of close cooperation. Indeed, CCEE and CEC jointly promoted important and significant ecumenical initiatives at European level. And if the Roman Catholic Church should in the future become CEC member, this “would require preparatory work and changes to the relevant rules”, the Patriarch declared. “However, I am convinced that a conference of all the European Churches working in harmony will be able to respond better to the sacred command to re-establish communion between the churches and serve our contemporaries confronted as they are with so many complex problems”, Bartholomaios I claimed. Addressing himself directly to the Archbishop of Lyon Philippe Barbarin, seated in the first row of Lyon’s auditorium, the Patriarch said: “I address this invitation to Cardinal Barbarin in particular, that he may transmit where it is deemed propitious”. In Europe, “all are desperately seeking hope”, Bartholomaios I claimed, “that is why procrastination cannot be justified. On the contrary, “the collaboration between our churches and their cooperation with the European leaders active in the fields of politics, the economy and society is essential and urgen”t.The answer of the archbishop. Interviewed by journalists, Cardinal Philippe Barbarin said he would write the Pope to brief him on the Patriarch’s proposal. The archbishop noted that the issue is not “new”, since “it was raised by the Churches already in the past”. The proposal, he remarked, “entails major structural changes” and is linked to the non-participation of the Catholic Church to the World Council of Churches. “This is why it can be said – he underlined – that this appeal has been positively received. It was a strong, fraternal appeal marked by hope. The Patriarch personally asked me to deliver this message. What I will do is write to the Pope, inform him that I attended CEC’s 50th anniversary and that Patriarch Bartholomaios I tasked me with his message, that I am happy to convey”. The archbishop underlined that it is necessary to distinguish between “two planes”. On the one side, is “the concrete ground of existing cooperation that can certainly be stepped up further”; on the other “the question of the structure’s integration that ought to be the object of reflection”. …and of CCEE Secretary General. Father Father Duarte da Cunha declared: “I too believe that the Christian Churches of Europe are called to be united according to the Lord’s Commandment, ‘that everyone be one’ (John 17:21) so as to serve better contemporary man, who is increasingly confronted by a multitude of complex challenges, including ethical and social ones. This was also the invitation of Pope John Paul II, as conveyed in the Apostolic Exhortation Ecclesia in Europa: ‘The strengthening of union in Europe motivates Christians to cooperate in the process of integration and reconciliation through a theological, spiritual, ethical and social dialogue. Indeed, in the Europe which is proceeding towards political unity, can we accept that the Church of Christ is herself a factor of division and of discord? Would this not be one of the greatest scandals of our time?’ (Ecclesia in Europa, 119). The joint witness of the Christian Churches in Europe, enriched by their patrimony of faith, values and by their social experiences, will be taken into greater account and will have a greater impact within European institutions”.