| |
OL VII, June 2003, Washington, DC
"Patriarchates: Ancient Model for Future
Church Unity"
Archbishop Rembert Weakland - "In
sum, one could say that the discussion at Vatican Council
II about the nature of patriarchates or other for ms of primacy
in the first millennium brought the argument one step for
ward without totally resolving the issue. Although it was
never fully articulated or explored as such, the tension
came about in an effort to reconcile the concept of primacy
of the Pope as defined in Vatican Council I with the other
primacies expressed in the patriarchal structures which the
Eastern Catholic Churches represented and sought to defend."
Archbishop Vsevolod of Scopelos - "The
Patriarchs of the Ancient Pentarchy (Rome, Constantinople,
Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem) should jointly call for
an Ecumencial Council of all the Apostolic Christian Churches
of the world that adhere to the principle of my presentation
- one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. It's purpose
would be to consider how to re-structure the Churches involved,
consolidate where appropriate, de-centralize where appropriate,
and combine where appropriate, trying to establish a balanced
organizational structure not only in size and shape, but
in authority and responsibility. In essence, we need to try
and utilize the best of both worlds - counterbalancing central
structure with local flexibility."
Bishop Peter Stasiuk - "The
issue of new Patriarchates acquires an ecumenical dimension
the moment it is raised, because neither the Catholic Church
nor the Eastern Orthodox Church have any clear means or guide-lines
for raising a Local Church to Patriarchal rank, or bringing
a new Patriarchate into existence. This is a problem which
affects both the Orthodox and the Catholics."
|
|
