Russia’s Metropolitan
Hilarion Alfeyev and Pope Francis met last Tuesday morning on the occasion
of the presentation of the late Sergei Averintsev’s book “Word of God and word of man”.
The high representative of the Patriarchate of Moscow
confirmed how quickly Orthodox faithful in Russia are picking up and
interpreting the signals that are being sent out by the current Bishop
of Rome. The presentation of Averintsev’s book took place at the Russian
centre for science and culture in Rome.
The Patriarchate of Moscow’s “foreign affairs
minister” spoke about the great Russian philosopher who died in Vienna
in February 2004 and looked into ways in which ecumenical dialogue
between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches could be re-tuned in the
years to come.
In the post-Soviet years, the great Christian
scholar Averincev had already foreseen the fatal failure of an idea of
Christian unity which he defined as “political” or “ideological”. That
is, unity in Christianity described by many adjectives - conservative,
liberal and so on – a unity that follows world rules and tends to grow
out of an opposition towards someone or something, the unity of a
“religion without faith, without belief”,” Hilarion explained.
The
Metropolitan quoted Averintsev to stress that common paths are only
possible if there is unity in “Christian Christianity”. This unity is
possible when one remains faithful to the Sacraments and the dynamics of
the Christians faith, despite all differences. The unity of those who
see every word of the Creed as an expression of their own faith.”
This is just as valid today. Real Christian unity
cannot be distorted, with unity being formed out of opposition or
motivated by “ideological, pragmatic or propagandistic” elements.
Eastern and Western Churches “which have their roots in Apostolic
Christianity” “have the very special mission of testifying “Christian
Christianity” together, “professing the truth of the Cross together.”
But his joint confession will only be fruitful if we learn to see one
another not as adversaries, as we did during the crusades, nor as
rivals, as often happens today, but as workers who work together in the
Lord’s vineyard.”
When “we can learn to value the differences that
distinguish our various religious traditions and stop looking for
external uniformity.”
In his message, Hilarion sees the basic element of
shared apostolic faith as a propelling factor of today’s and tomorrow’s
ecumenical path. It is a “return to the sources” which can be developed
also thanks to Pope Francis’ work.
The Russian Metropolitan eloquently
concluded his speech by extensively quoting two points made by the
current Bishop of Rome.
The first quotation was of the words pronounced
by Pope Francis on the return flight from Rio after World Youth Day,
referring to Dostoevskij and the Orthodox Churches: “In the Orthodox
Churches, they have retained that pristine liturgy, which is so
beautiful. We have lost some of the sense of adoration. The Orthodox
preserved it; they praise God, they adore God, they sing, time does not
matter.”
The second quotation by Francis which Hilarion referred to and emphasised, was a passage from the Pope’s interview with Italian Jesuit journal Civiltà Cattolica. Hilarion quoted the bit where the Bishop of Rome wanted “to learn” from the Orthodox Church about “the meaning of Episcopal collegiality and the tradition of synodality.”
A shared reflection on how the Church was governed
in the early centuries “will bear fruit in due time,” Pope Francis said
in the interview quoted by Hilarion. “In ecumenical relations it is
important not only to know each other better, but also to recognize what
the Spirit has sown in the other as a gift for us,” the Pope said.
The extensive review of the institute of the Synod
of Bishops, which Francis ordered, is a concrete sign of his
willingness to recognise what the Holy Spirit sewed along the path of
the Orthodox Churches as a gift for the Catholic Church.
This means
ecumenical dialogue can venture down new and unknown paths, away from
the tedious ritualistic ceremonies between the two Churches.