On Ecumenism

The Holy Monastery of the Paraklete
Oropos, Attica, Greece
2004

Introduction

The Orthodox Church is, by its very nature, catholic and obviously ecumenical (universal). It welcomes with open arms all peoples, of all races and all times, and invites them all to come. Christ, who is the head, addresses the world diachronically: “Come to Me all of you” while at the same time sending out His apostles to teach the Gospel of salvation “to all nations.”

This component and inherent feature of the Church, ecumenicity or universality, is today being contested by two movements which express the spirit of the age: Ecumenism and Globalism.

Globalism is promoted by powerful socio-political forces and projects the model of a single united humanity, while Ecumenism is active in the religious sector, attempting to realize the vision of a united Christianity and aiming ultimately at one universal religion, a “pan-religion.”

In this paper, we will attempt to provide an outline of the Ecumenical movement, of which the Orthodox Church is a participant, since, for most of the Church its nature and work remains unknown and certain developments within ecumenical circles have raised fears and provoked concerns. . . . Read More

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