"modernist"'s remarks (Fwd., Eng.)

[Andrew V.Bochkarev]

Date: Fri, 7 Feb 1997 13:20:29 -0500
Reply-To: Orthodox Christianity <ORTH...@IUBVM.UCS.INDIANA.EDU>
Sender: Orthodox Christianity <ORTH...@IUBVM.UCS.INDIANA.EDU>
From: mikhail bunchuk <mikhail.a...@ND.EDU>
Subject: "modernist" remarks
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Stan Takis recently proposed the idea of unification of American Orthodox
jurisdictions under the omophor of the Ecumenical Patriarch. It's up to
American Orthodox people to make a decision, and, since I'm not an
American, I wouldn't like to discuss this matter further. But there were
some points in discussion that followed Stan's posting which, frankly,
caused me some pain and perplexity.

Alexey Chumakov talked about "the modern heresy of ecumenism, and closely
related modernism." First, I'd like to ask, what does Alexey understand by
modernism? As far as I know, modernism is a fuzzy notion that is currently
used to denote the belief in metanarratives and universal concepts (as
opposed to postmodernism, an even more fuzzy notion). What then does it
have to do with ecumenism (in the same letter Alexey speaks of ecumenism as
one of the incarnations of modernism)? Or may be Alexey mentions modernism
in the sense of the timing of ecumenical movement? But in that case he
might consult the article by Florovsky "Orthodox Churches and the
Ecumenical Movement prior to 1910"; he would see that this movement has
existed throughout all the centuries following the schism.

Then, where, when and by whom has ecumenism been condemned as a heresy?
Which dogma does it contradict? And how is ecumenism defined? Actually,
ecumenism can be of several forms. It may stem from the feeling of
insufficiency pertinent to many Protestant denominations. It may also stem
from the Russian Church's dismal financial situation, forcing it to
cooperate with Protestants in order to get some material contributions from
them. It may also stem from the conviction that as long as Christianity is
divided, Christ's commandment to be united as He is united with the Father
is not fulfilled; and we, Orthodox Christians, are responsible for bearing
witness about the fullness of faith, which we possess, to those who are not
in unity with us due to various historical developments. That's the kind of
ecumenism that has been practiced by such people as Anthony (Bloom) of
Surozh, George Florovsky, John Meyendorff, Alexander Schmemann, Paul
Evdokimov and many others. If you discard them as 'heretics', what would
you remain with? Probably with "The Protocols of Zion Wisemen".

As for Roman Catholicism, I don't understand why an Orthodox Christian
cannot be in one faith with Roman Catholics. I am personally in one faith
with them. I fully believe that the Roman Catholic Church, as well as the
Orthodox Church, is the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. However, I
can't participate in the sacraments of the Catholic Church, since the
complete unity has not been declared by the both Churches, and I feel I
must be obedient to my mother Orthodox Church. I know that I sound
contradictory, but I would prefer to live with this contradiction in my
sole, rather than to agree to any kind of compromise.

People whom I cited above came to ecumenist vision primarily thanks to
their profound theological scholarship. I am not a theologian. I don't want
to engage in debates on Filioque; and I'm not enamored of papacy. However,
I can testify about my personal experience. I've spent two years on a very
Catholic campus, and I have met here people who live fully in Christ, for
whom the Eucharist is the most precious thing in the world, and who strive
for the real Church-hood (tserkovnost). In their social work, they are
truly the light to the world. To me, their lives is the very authentic
Christianity, and I know there are thousands of such people in the Roman
Catholic Church. I perceive it as a personal tragedy that I can't join them
in the Eucharist. And I feel that to bring about unity with them is one of
the most important tasks in my life. I think Patriarch Bartholomew shares
the same feelings, and that's why his work is holy.

Why are we so quick to attach the term "heresy" to whatever doesn't please
us? Why are we so bold to call Patriarchs heretics, thus insulting those
who are proud of being under the guidance of these Patriarchs? In the case
of Chumakov, it's understandable: he was brought up in a society where it
was customary to attach ideological labels to all sorts of things. In fact,
"modernist" was a favorite label of the Khruschev epoch. But I'm pretty
surprised to have seen such a great deal of intolerance and absence of love
and friendliness in the postings of Americans, the offspring of 'free
society'. Such an attitude is very telling. America, as a multicultural
country, could naturally become the place where Christian unity, Christian
synthesis could be achieved. Merton wonderfully shows the way how it might
be achieved:

"If I can unite in myself the thought and the devotion of Eastern and
Western Christendom, the Greek and the Latin Fathers, the Russians with the
Spanish mystics, I can prepare in myself the reunion of divided Christians.
From that secret and unspoken unity in myself can eventually come a visible
and manifest unity of all Christians. If we want to bring together what is
divided, we can not do so by imposing one division upon the other or
absorbing one division into the other. But if we do this, the union is not
Christian. It is political, and doomed to further conflict. We must contain
all divided worlds in ourselves and transcend them in Christ" ('Conjectures
of a Guilty Bystander').

What I can see in many American Orthodox is the desire to lock oneself in
the little world of one's 'right-ness". They would not swallow the idea
that in the Orthodox Church, in comparison with Catholicism, there can be
found "I will not say another light, but the same light in a purer form"
(Fr.Lev Gillet). Unfortunately, Americans are incapable of uniting
separated worlds and creating syntheses.

Mikhail.
Notre Dame.

=== Cut ===

Andrew

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