Special Commission on Orthodox Participation in the WCC

[bogoliubtsy]

Very interesting reading with links to:

Opening speech by Arshbishop Christodoulos (Thessaloniki, 1 June 2003)

Certain parts of this speech are very good in my opinion.

Also, there is a letter from the symposium participants to H.B. Patriarch Maximos of Bulgaria and H.B. Catholicos Elias, Patriarch of Georgia.

This letter is a request from the current Orthodox participants that these two Patriarchates rejoin the WCC. Also interesting.

There's also the "final report" on Orthodox involvement in the WCC which will be discussed at the 2006 conference.

http://www.wcc-coe.org/wcc/who/special-01-e.html

[Justin Kissel]

I hate to only pick out something negative, but...

3.3While "fellowship" is sometimes used to translate the Greek word koinonia, which is a key concept in recent ecumenical discussion about the church and its unity, the relationship among the churches in the WCC as a whole is not yet koinonia in the full sense (as described, for example, in the Canberra Assembly statement on "The Unity of the Church as Koinonia: Gift and Calling"). But the WCC Constitution (Art. 3,1) does portray the Council as a community of churches on the way to the "goal of visible unity in one faith and in one eucharistic fellowship expressed in worship and in common life in Christ, [seeking] to advance towards that unity in order that the world may believe". To the extent that the member churches share the one baptism and the confession of Jesus Christ as God and Saviour, it can even be said (using the words of the Decree on Ecumenism of the Second Vatican Council) that a "real, even though imperfect communion" exists between them already now. - Source

...stuff like this scares me.