Wha we e hey saying abou Ecumenism a Sibiu?
“The ques ion o uni y ough o dis u b us; i needs o bu n wi hin us” –
ha ’s how Ca dinal Kaspe ga e oice o a sen imen el by pa icipan s a he
Thi d Eu opean Ecumenical Assembly held in Sibiu, Romania, Sep embe 4-9.
Wi h some 1542 o icial delega es be ween ep esen a i es o he 125 membe
chu ches o he Con e ence o he Eu opean Chu ches (KEK) and o he 34
Episcopal Con e ences o he Ca holic Chu ch in Eu ope (CCEE), oge he wi h
ano he 1000 among p ess and isi o s aking pa , Sibiu, one o he wo 2007
Eu opean capi als o cul u e, eally became a Eu opean spi i ual and ecumenical
capi al o ha week. The Assembly was accu a ely desc ibed as a “ a e” e en ,
only he hi d o i s kind in h ee decades, he i s held in 1989 in he p ima ily
P o es an Swiss ci y o Basle and he second in 1997 in he mainly Ca holic ci y
o G az, Aus ia.
The choice o Sibiu in a p edominan ly O hodox coun y was ap . This
beau i ul ci y o T ansyl ania, a ue “Eu ope in minia u e”, can boas a ich
common his o y o peace ul coexis ence be ween Romanians, Saxons and
Hunga ians, ep esen ing he p incipal Ch is ian chu ches o Eu ope. And he
heme i sel o he Assembly wi h i s ocus on ligh esona ed powe ully wi h he
O hodox con ex : “The Ligh o Ch is shines upon all. Hope o enewal and
uni y in Eu ope”. The whole e en glimme ed wi h di e en colou s o es men
and adi ion, pe spec i e and expe ience. Much could be said abou i . In his
sho a icle, howe e , I would like o concen a e on he speci ically ecumenical
dimension. Wha we e hey saying abou Ecumenism a Sibiu?
1. G a i ude o he Ligh we sha e
The emp a ion migh be o un ahead o mysel and ge in o he “mea ” o
he ecumenical issues aised. Bu ha would be a mis ake because wha
happened e e yday, whe he in he huge Ten ha hos ed he plena y sessions
o in halls and ho els, chu ches and own squa es ha p o ided spaces o
encoun e , was i sel a s a emen abou ecumenism oday in Eu ope. I is
impo an , he e o e, o eco d, e en b ie ly, he subs an ial deg ee o sha ed
p aye and song, e lec ion, es imony and medi a ion ha pe aded he
Assembly and b ough home o all jus how much Eu opean ecumenical
chu ches ha e g own as a amily sha ing in a common Ligh . Each mo ning o
o e an hou he delega es wo shipped oge he and hea d s iking es imonies
om membe s o di e en chu ches. Though hese es imonies o igina ed om
di e se backg ounds, a common in e io esonance welled up wi hin he
lis ene s, making hem almos whispe o hemsel es: “ ha expe ience is mine
oo”. And he exchange o gi s in e ms o es imonies and he sha ing o
expe iences c ea ed a ne wo k o a e ni y, a spi i ual koinonia o med in he
Ligh ha uni es.
So, o ins ance, a young Anglican, Timi Do gu, om he Chu ch o
England, sha ed his independen decision as a 17 yea old o ollow Ch is and
how ha impac ed on he way he ac s and esponds o ce ain si ua ions – om
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he way he plays oo ball o acing a ious emp a ions as a uni e si y s uden .
The wi ness o ac ions is i al, he commen ed, bu no enough: “Fo my iends o
eally unde s and he dep h o hei need o Jesus in hei li es I mus open my
mou h o ell hem”. O cou se, his means a imes being “ he odd-one-ou …bu i
is also o en he case ha he pe son who is di e en ge s he mos a en ion”.
Hila y Wison om he L’A che Communi y in Li e pool sha ed Ma gie’s
expe ience. Because o he disabili y Ma gie spen mos o he childhood and
adolescence away om he amily, in ins i u ions and long s ay hospi als. Ha ing
su e ed om ha expe ience, she has no always been able o “walk in he ligh ”.
She now sha es in a L’A che communi y. He expe ience is a call o inclusion, o
a eal li ed uni y h ough long e m ela ionships. I also indi ec ly eminded us o
how much he quali y o ou ela ionships a e impo an in ecumenism.
Re . F . Mes op Pa samyan o he A menian Chu ch, "su i o o he lood
o a heism" unde he So ie e a, old o a pa icula expe ience o ligh in he
Monas e y o Kho Vi ap on he slopes o Moun A a a , p omp ing him o u e an
oa h ha he should y o e e a e o li e in he p esence o he Lo d, in his
ligh , like a child o ligh .
The sha ing o spi i ual expe ience wasn' con ined o he momen s o
p aye and e lec ion. Round ables and o ums, g oups and cul u al e en s also
became oppo uni ies o dwell oge he in hope. In one ound able, S . Joan
Roddy, head o he Re ugee P ojec o he I ish Bishops’ Con e ence, old
mo ing expe iences o mig an s she has me in I eland and he wo k ha is going
on o in eg a ion. The Dominican sis e , S . Ka in Ǻmell om No way old o he
expe ience o li e in Buddhis Zen monas e ies in Japan and wha i mean o he
as a Ch is ian. In a o um on peace Bishop An hony Fa quha o Down and
Conno , S . Ge aldine Smy h o he I ish School o Ecumenics and Re . Ken
C owe o he P esby e ian Chu ch spoke o s i ing o con inued peace and
econcilia ion, healing o memo ies and hope in I eland.
Yes, wha e e di ides O hodox, P o es an and Ca holic Ch is ians, he
ac emains ha con essing ou ai h in Jesus Ch is binds us oge he . The e is
much ha we hold in common and i is mo e impo an ha any di isions.
2. The Gi we a e o one ano he
I 's easy o ake o g an ed how much Ecumenism has been a posi i e
de elopmen o he chu ches o Eu ope. An assembly such as he Sibiu
ga he ing was an oppo uni y o blow away he cobwebs ha can so easily se le
and see again jus how much he chu ches a e and can be a gi o each o he .
Ca dinal Kaspe pu i as ollows: “Ecumenism’s gi o us is he ac ha we ha e
ecognised his basic closeness and edisco e ed ha we a e no alien o each
o he o in compe i ion, bu b o he s and sis e s in Ch is … We should also ne e
le ou sel es be alked ou o i by hose o whom ecumenism is a mess”.
Disco e ies ha e been made o easu es bo h om he wise people o he
Eas and he Wise o he Wes . An inc easing lo e o icons, o ins ance, as well
as an inc eased app ecia ion o li u gy, spi i uali y and sense o mys e y has
sp ead in he Wes om he Eas . In he Wes Ca holics ha e lea ned much om
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P o es an s on he meaning and u e cen ali y o he Wo d o God. P o es an s
o hei pa ha e lea ned much om Ca holics abou he meaning and o m o
li u gy and he sac amen al dimension o Ch is ian li e.
The gi o solida i y wi h one ano he was a gi ha was unde lined
especially by Me opoli an Ki ill o he Moscow Pa ia cha e. He e e ed o his in
commen ing on he "wa m a e nal cong a ula ions om many Ch is ian
Chu ches on he occasion o he euni ica ion o he Moscow Pa ia cha e and
he Russian Chu ch Ou side Russia.” He also no ed how much “solida i y wi h
o he Ch is ians” is expe ienced “in acing nume ous challenges o secula ism,
lack o spi i uali y and adicalism".
Bishop Wol gang Hube o he Lu he an Chu ch in Ge many summa ised
wha he P o es an chu ches con ibu e o he ecumenical communi y: links wi h
Holy Sc ip u e, he emphasis on he con ession o Ch is , he s eng hening o he
Chu ch by he membe s o he cong ega ions and he equali y o esponsibili ies
be ween men and women.
Wha came ac oss was a sense ha we need o ecognise his gi edness
ha we a e o one ano he . No only ha bu we need o app ecia e anew now
much we need each o he no leas because oday many di icul ies bese all
chu ches in Eu ope. The e’s much oom o g ow h he e. Ca dinal Kaspe pu i
succinc ly: "We s ill do no know each o he well enough and so we s ill do no
lo e each o he enough".
3. Naming he Di icul ies
A sign o he inc easing ma u i y in ecumenical ela ions was he ac ha
he Assembly o Sibiu was also cha ac e ised by ank discussion whe e
di icul ies we e clea ly named. So, o ins ance, he documen he Cong ega ion
o he Doc ine o he Fai h had published ea lie in he summe se ing ou
di e ences ha s ill exis ega ding ou unde s anding o Chu ch was men ioned
explici ly. Ca dinal Kaspe spoke di ec ly and since ely abou he con o e sy
su ounding i s publica ion. Though he in en ion o he documen was no o hu
o beli le anyone, he oo had p oblems wi h he documen “ o he hu and pain
o my iends is my hu and pain as well.” Bu he also acknowledged ha
decla a ions o he chu ches make a e no all o he liking o Ca holics. "Bu wha
a e we o expec ? Cosy ecumenism and ake ecumenism, which a e all abou
being nice o each o he , do no ge us e y a ; he only way o wa d is dialogue
in u h and cla i y”.
Bishop Wol gang Hube exp essed a us a ion om his Lu he an poin o
iew: “No chu ch by he sel can ep esen he whole spec um o colou s wi hin
he ligh ; no chu ch alone can e lec he ligh o Ch is ”. And again, ‘One chu ch’s
claim o be … he only “Ch is exis ing as cong ega ion”, ine i ably downg ades
o he chu ches and obscu es he common adiance and shine o he chu ches.’
Mo ing on o a di e en opic, Me opoli an Ki ill o he Moscow
Pa ia cha e lamen ed how "some Ch is ian communi ies ha e unila e ally
e iewed o a e e iewing he no ms o li e de ined by he Wo d o God" and
" he e is a suspicious coincidence be ween he new a i ude o mo ali y cu en in
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Ch is ian ci cles and he sp eading o he pos -mode n pa adigm in he secula
socie y". Mo e poin edly he s a ed: "belie e s canno ecognize a he same ime
he alue o li e and he igh o dea h, he alue o amily and alidi y o same-
sex ela ions, he p o ec ion o child's igh s and he delibe a e des uc ion o
human emb yos o medical pu poses".
I became e iden ha a majo di icul y is he a ie y o ideas ega ding
isible uni y he Chu ches ha e, and wi h his di e en ways o unde s anding he
bases o ecumenical dialogue. Bishop Hube e lec ed on his: ‘Today we ha e
o build ecumenism on he unde s anding ha he pa icipa ing chu ches no only
ha e di e en ecclesiologies and di e en ideas o minis y and o dina ion,
di e en unde s andings o he ela ion be ween sc ip u e and adi ion o o
women in he o dained minis y bu ha hey also ha e di e en ideas o wha
“ isible uni y” means.’
Fo some such di icul ies a e bes elega ed o specula i e abs ac ion
and consigned o heology so as o simply ge on wi h i ! Pas o Thomas Wip , o
ins ance, o he Communi y o P o es an Chu ches in Eu ope which s a ed wi h
he Leuenbe g Ag eemen in 1973 and now has a ound i y million P o es an s,
commen ed: “i is high ime o banish he p esen inne and ou e di ision o hei
p ope place, which is heological deba e, whils …we s eng hen ou wo k
oge he o he people ou side”. Fo his pa , Bishop Richa d Cha es, Anglican
Bishop o London, ema ked how “e en he Chu ch in many ways has become
wea y, dull and spi i less. In so many ways we seem ba led by he apid
disappea ance o an old social wo ld in which we el e y much a home. The
eac ion in so many places is o e ea in o in-house ecclesias ical
p eoccupa ions”.
O he s, howe e , especially he Ca holic and O hodox chu ches,
unde lined he c ucial need o keep on going o he poin o ull ecclesias ical
communion be ween us. In he wo ds o he Ecumenical Pa ia ch, we mus
“ emain unwa e ing and unmo ed in ou con ic ion ha we a e obliged o do
e e y hing in ou powe o p omo e he sac ed wo k o es o a ion o ull
ecclesias ical and sac amen al communion among Chu ches on he basis o he
same ai h in lo e and espec o he pa icula exp essions wi hin which he
apos olic ai h is expe ienced”. And so he decla ed his commi men o
“un ese edly p omo e and suppo e e y ecumenical heological dialogue, on
equal e ms, as some hing absolu ely necessa y, e en in he mos c i ical
ela ions among us”.
Fo all he di icul ies ha undeniably exis , he good news unde lined a
Sibiu by Ca dinal Kaspe is ha di e ences do no a ec being a Ch is ian as
such. In o he wo ds, hey do no a ec he ques ion o sal a ion i sel . And he e
he e is so much ha uni es us and ha we can pu sue oge he . The di e ences
a e linked o he ques ion o he way sal a ion is media ed and he isible o m o
he Chu ch. Such issues a e no ma ginal. Ca dinal Kaspe summed up he
si ua ion: “Fo Ca holics and O hodox, hese a e no i ele an ques ions. Fo he
Chu ch is o med acco ding o he analogy o he mys e y o he Inca na ion. She
is isible as Chu ch, isible also as ins i u ion. And – sadly – who can deny ha
he e is s ill no consensus be ween us on his ques ion?”
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4. Recognising he Pain
In he opening ce emony o he Assembly, Ma ga e he Isbe g, Depu y
Vice P esiden o CEC, exp essed he pain o di ision ha Ch is ians o Eu ope
eel by oicing he ques ion: “we long o uni y, bu why is he ecumenical oad
such a long and mys e ious way?” I is all oo ob ious ha when i comes o he
ligh o ai h "we ha e his easu e in clay ja s” (2 Co 4:7).
And he “why” ques ion pie ces any hea ha is ecumenically sensi i e. I s
echo could be hea d again and again in di e en ways h oughou he Assembly.
And i is good ha i did because he e’s always he isk ha we migh begin o
ake di ision be ween us as some hing no mal and gloss o e he pain.
Ca dinal Kaspe e e ed o “ he eal Go dian Kno ha has, un o una ely,
s ill no been un a elled”, namely he ac ha since “we a e no one in ou
unde s anding o he Chu ch and, o a g ea ex en , he Eucha is , we canno
ga he a he one able o he Lo d and ea he one Eucha is ic b ead o d ink
om he one Eucha is ic cup”. He acknowledged “ his is o ensi e and, o many,
a hea y bu den” bu “i does no help o conceal wounds; we need o lea e hem
open, e en when he e is pain; only hen can we ea hem and, wi h God’s help,
heal hem”.
A new beginning is needed. The e’s no poin o playing a blame game as
his o ical in es iga ions ha e shown ha he e is usually guil on bo h sides. Bu ,
as Ca dinal Kaspe eminded he Assembly, ha s a s wi h ecognising pain and
mo ing in con e sion owa ds one ano he : “A new beginning is possible only
h ough he pu i ica ion o memo y. The e is no ecumenical p og ess wi hou
con e sion and penance. This demands he eadiness o enewal and e o m
ha is necessa y in e e y Chu ch, whe eby e e y chu ch mus begin wi h i sel .”
Bishop Wol gang Hube acknowledged ha chu ches a e always in
dange o obscu ing he ligh . So he oo p oposed ha mu ual espec also
includes sel -c i ical e ision. Monika Hei z om he Old Ca holic chu ch o
Aus ia spoke o he jou ney om Basel o G az o Sibiu commen ing on wha
has been achie ed bu ema king “bu he e always emains a lo mo e o do”.
She pu be o e he delega es he need o g ea e inclusion o women’s
pe spec i es.
5. Signs o Hope
In his medi a ion, Ca dinal Te amanzi poin ed ou ha he con e sion
needed in he ecumenical mo emen consis s in disco e ing he “new hings” ha
he Lo d is b inging abou : “Look, I am doing a new hing. Now i sp ing o h. Do
you no see i ?” (Is 43:19). I is abou making way o he new ac ion o he Spi i .
Signs o he new ac ion o he Spi i eme ged du ing he Assembly. Fi s ly,
i was acknowledged ha he assemblies hemsel es a e new signs o hope. The
Ecumenical Pa ia ch Ba holomew spoke o he pas h ee decades and he
h ee assemblies b inging close coope a ion among all Ch is ian chu ches as a
“wo hy ecumenical ac i i y". Likewise, D . Samuel Kobia, Gene al Sec e a y o
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he Wo ld Council o Chu ches, e e ed o he join co-ope a ion o Roman
Ca holic, O hodox, Anglican and P o es an chu ches as an exp ession o a
egionally iable and cohe en ecumenical mo emen . He added ha , "mee ing in
Romania" was "a sign o deepening ellowship, helping o heal he many schisms
o he chu ch ha ook place on Eu opean soil".
In Ge many a signi ican sign o hope has been he ecen
“A bei sgemeinscha Ch is liche Ki chen” ( he Ecumenical Council o
Chu ches). 11 chu ches signed up o “ ecognize e e y Bap ism ha is
adminis e ed a Ch is ’s command in he name o he Fa he , he Son and he
Holy Spi i h ough he symbolic ac o imme sion in wa e o sp inkling wi h
wa e …”. I was acclaimed as he i s egional ecumenical council o chu ches o
pu his idea in o p ac ice. Bishop Hube acknowledged how he ini ia i e o his
Ecumenical Council o Chu ches in Ge many came om Ca dinal Kaspe .
The Ca holic chu ch e-a i med i s commi men o ecumenism. In his
message o Ca dinal Pé e E dő, P esiden o CCEE, Pope Benedic quo ed
Pope John Paul II who a i med he Ca holic Chu ch’s commi men o “i e ocably
ollow he pa h o ecumenical en u e.1 He also ema ked how “ he many
ecumenical mee ings and celeb a ions, along wi h pa ien , local and in e na ional
ecumenical dialogue, ha e gi en encou aging signs and gi en us a mo e i id
sense o he Chu ch as a mys e y o uni y”.
E en he Cong ega ion o he Doc ine o he Fai h’s documen ha had
caused con o e sy was also seen o con ain poin e s o hope. Fo ins ance, i is
a i med in he documen ha “Jesus Ch is is also sal i ically p esen in a sa ing
way in he chu ches and ecclesial communi ies ha a e di ided om us oo”.
Ca dinal Kaspe commen ed: “ his is eally no small hing. A ew decades ago
such a s a emen would s ill ha e been o ally un hinkable.”
Jean-A nold de Cle mon , P esiden o he KEK poin ed ou ha since he
2001 Cha a Oecumenica much has happened. The Ecumenical Cha e “has pu
up signpos s in ou chu ches, like uni y, spi i uali y, mission, jus ice, in e -
eligious dialogue”. And he Cha e has been he sou ce o many ini ia i es o
dialogue and s udy oge he , hough much s ill could be done wi h he Cha e .
The p esence o young delega es a Sibiu was also an impo an sign a
he Assembly ha was e e ed o equen ly. A young delega es’ mee ing in July
27-20 in S . Mau ice, Swi ze land esul ed in he elease o a s a emen ha was
hen appended o he inal Sibiu Message. I was a sign o a newly eme ging
“Ecumenical You h Mo emen ”.
The numbe o ini ia i es and de elopmen s a local and Eu opean le els
was eco ded a a ious momen s du ing he Assembly. The Communi y o
P o es an Chu ches in Eu ope (CPCE) has de eloped conside ably since he
las G az mee ing. The Po oo Common S a emen has had conside able
impac . The Lu he an Wo ld Fede a ion and he Pon i ical Council o he
P omo ion o Ch is ian Uni y Ag eemen S a emen on Jus i ica ion is ano he
s ep o wa d and sign o hope in he Ecumenical Mo emen .
6. The Way Ahead
1 Pope John Paul II, Encyclical Le e on Commi men o Ecumenism, U Unum Sin (1995), 3.
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Signpos s a e e y use ul in li e bu as Jean-A nold de Cle mon ,
P esiden o he KEK, poin ed ou in e e ence o signpos s o he Cha a
Oecumenica’s, “we canno s op benea h hese signpos s.” Ha ing s e ched ou
hands o each o he a Basel in 1989, and ealised in G az in 1997 ha he e is a
ecumenical econciling “people” o Eu ope, a Sibiu he e was a new ealisa ion
ha we need o wo k oge he o p o ec uni y and seek ou a deepe enewal in
e ms o spi i ual ecumenism.
Up o now ecumenical me hodology has ocussed on poin ing ou
con e gences be ween he chu ches in doc inal ma e s. I has led o p og ess
such as he Jus i ica ion Ag eemen bu in Ca dinal Kaspe ’s iew “wi h ime his
me hod has gone s ale”. Some hing mo e is needed. I is impo an o be hones
and go ahead in a way ha is nei he polemical no na ow by emba king on an
“exchange o gi s”, lea ning om each o he . He p oposed ha “ins ead o
educing ou sel es o he lowes common denomina o we can en ich each o he
wi h he easu es ha ha e been gi en o us”.
This “exchange o gi s” opens up an ecumenism o li e, a dialogue o li e
ha can’ be a case o “business as usual” o he chu ches. Jesus’ p aye o
uni y “so ha he wo ld migh belie e” (Jn 17:21) does no allow us o become
indi e en o he cause o uni y. Fo he sake o Eu ope he e’s a need o build up
oge he a Ch is ian li e ha is mo e soul han ins i u ion, mo e es imony sha ed
han con lic esol ing, mo e dialogue o li e han calcula ion o con e gence.
We do no “make uni y happen”. Tha ’s why we need o edisco e always
ha ecumenism has been se in mo ion by he Holy Spi i .2 In e e ing o
ecumenical spi i uali y, Bishop Hube obse ed how “ he wo d spi i uali y is
inc easingly inding an echo in people, is gaining popula i y, and is a ising s a .”
And his is ue pa icula ly in ecumenism.
A ague o p i a e spi i uali y is no enough. Tha ’s why some hing new is
eme ging ecumenically in e ms o he ole o monas e ies, communi ies and
mo emen s in he Ecumenical Mo emen . A ew mon hs ago he E angelical
Chu ch o Ge many called P o es an monas ic communi ies and o he spi i ual
communi ies a “ easu e o he P o es an chu ches ha needs o be p omo ed
and s eng hened”. In S u ga in May his yea up o 9000 membe s o Ca holic,
P o es an and O hodox communi ies ga he ed o an ini ia i e en i led “Toge he
o Eu ope”, seeking o o m oge he a spi i ual ne wo k ha con ibu es o
o e ing wi ness o Ch is he Ligh in he da kness o Eu ope oday. The
“Toge he o Eu ope” ini ia i e was linked up ia sa elli e o ci ies ac oss Eu ope,
om Bel as o B ussels, om Moscow o Rome.3
The e’s a need o ocus on a he apy o enewed ela ionships wi hin a
spi i ual ecumenism ha is based on wha i is we hold in common: he Gospel,
he li e o g ace, cha isms, and abo e all, lo e, mu ual lo e. Communi ies, be
hey la ge o small, a e places whe e people lea n and p ac ice old and new
wo kable o ms o spi i ual li e ha can uni e in he a ious ways o koinonia ha
a e a ailable o us e en while s ill no ully uni ed. And e e y communi y, i i is
2 Va ican II Dec ee on Ecumenism, Uni a is Redin eg a io, 1 and 4.
3 Gab iella Fallaca a, Toge he o Eu ope 2007 (Rome: Ci a Nuo a, 2007).
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ali e, con ibu es o a li ing ecumenism ha makes a di e ence. Al eady we can
be bound oge he in so many ways in Paul’s con ic ion ha I Ch is ’s lo e can
uni e us, who can di ide us (C . Rom 8). The Sibiu Assembly became an
oppo uni y o expe ience ha and se ou once mo e wi h enewed commi men ,
en husiasm and pe se e ance.
The pos -Assembly s a s, howe e , wi h each indi idual pe son. In he
wo ds o And ea Ricca di o he San ’Egidio communi y, “To begin wi h onesel :
ha is he only hing ha ma e s… The le e o A chimedes wi h which we can
li up he wo ld is ou inne and pe sonal ans o ma ion”.
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