www.byzcath.org Forums News & Events Church News Roumanian Orthodox Bishop defends Eastern Catholics

Dear Friends,

Happy (Old Calendar) New Year to those celebrating it today and a blessed Feast of the Naming and Circumcision of our Lord, God and Saviour Jesus Christ! Happy St Basil's Day as well.

There is a story today about a Roumanian Orthodox Metropolitan who has publicly defended the efforts by a Roumanian Catholic group to get back property confiscated by the communists:

http://www.ewtn.com/vnews/getstory.asp?number=22696

Thank God for such holy and fair men of God as this wonderful Orthodox prelate.

Many years to him and to all our Orthodox brothers and sisters!

Alex

Thank God for such holy and fair men of God as this wonderful Orthodox prelate.

Many years to him and to all our Orthodox brothers and sisters!

Alex !

AMEN!

Elected bishop in 1962 Nicolae Corneanu, like most Orthodox bishops cooperated with the communist government. "I could have acted differently, but at the time I thought for the good of the Church I had to make compromises with the regime. Now I must confess my sins with all sincerity. I did not fulfill my obligations as a bishop because I did not protest against the regime... I have disgust for what I did on certain occasions. Many [Greek Catholic] priests and lay people were imprisoned... Even some of my [Orthodox] priests objected against the dictator. I did not protect them... I approved what the administration did. I did not tell them they were wrong... I felt I must free myself of this burden, be sincere about what I had done during the dictatorship and ask pardon, I feel an obligation to speak openly of those years and of the way we acted... If a church belonged to the Greek Catholics it should be returned."

This bishop put his actions where his mouth was, in 1992 returning the Catholic cathedral, and of the hundred or so Greek Catholic churches returned in Romania, half of them have been in his diocese!

It's a wonderful example for those Russian Orthodox, and also for some Polish, Cuban and Mexican bishops who were silent during the recent persecutions.

The article mentions a "studied silence" from the Orthodox. Ecumenism will get a twist when the victims of the Orthodox-Communist cooperation begin taking their cause to the world via law-suits thus exposing the sins and evils of those who confiscate houses of worship by force. Ecumenical dialogue has hit a sand-bar with the issue of Uniatism. It is good that it stopped there. Now the real crimes of 'reverse-uniatism' have to be addressed. Is this the sickness of religion that Romanides wrote about?

Dear Remie,

Excellent points, more power to such bishops who make good on their repentance and display such extraordinary fairness in redressing past wrongs committed by the regime against the Eastern Catholics.

Dear Edwin,

That could very well be.

But I think Fr. Romanides was more concerned with those who thought there were only 7 Ecumenical Councils as opposed to what he affirms is 9 and other such critically important issues . . .

Alex

Dear Remie,

Excellent points, more power to such bishops who make good on their repentance and display such extraordinary fairness in redressing past wrongs committed by the regime against the Eastern Catholics.

Dear Edwin,

That could very well be.

But I think Fr. Romanides was more concerned with those who thought there were only 7 Ecumenical Councils as opposed to what he affirms is 9 and other such critically important issues . . .

Alex

Greetings,

I for one, as a member of the Romanian Catholic Church, am glad to see this happening. News has not been very good coming out of Romania, and this is welcome indeed. More needs to be done. There are stories of churches being bulldozed rather than being returned. We all need to repent from our sins, and move on.

Br. Peter M. Preble

Additonal Romanain Orthodox initiatives for ecumenism:


Romanian Orthodox Church Leader Describes
Delicate State of Ecumenism in Eastern Europe

A Romanian Orthodox Bishop described the fragile state but necessary role of ecumenism in Eastern Europe and internationally during a visit here sponsored by the National Council of Churches (NCC), which represents 39 Protestant and Orthodox bodies in the United States.

His Eminence Bishop Nifon of Slobozia and Calarasi, President and Mr. Christian Teodorescu, Executive Director of the Ecumenical Association of Churches in Romania (AIDRom) met with members of the NCC's Europe Committee and other
NCC staff on Oct. 8. They described the church in Romania as strong and vibrant but also spoke openly about the anti-ecumenical movement in their region, which has led to tensions on both the local and international levels.

"Anti-ecumenical feelings have started to manifest in a dangerous way (in our region as they have in Russia)," Bishop Nifon
reported. He said there are many reasons for this growing sentiment. "The situation gets more and more complicated for Orthodox churches in various parts of the world," he explained, citing the fall of communism and the increase in parachurches
and other sects in Romania and Eastern Europe. "It is bad to have freedom if it is expressed without responsibility. Some Orthodox have fallen into fundamentalism and extremism that is not positive and creative."

"Mistakes belong to both sides," Bishop Nifon stressed. He called for humility and clear expression on both sides so that there
can be a "new, mature theological understanding and vision in the ecumenical movement."

"Both sides need to make themselves heard and to give substantive, theological arguments so we can have efficient dialogue," he said. "It will be a question of concessions in the best, most creative sense, not in the sense of giving up strong positions."

"This is a very delicate time, when both sides need to be careful not to push too hard," Bishop Nifon said. "This next year is an important one for the future of the ecumenical movement."

Bishop Nifon encouraged "ecumenical resource sharing, both material and spiritual," to help balance out the principle too often
applied in ecumenical organizations that "who pays, commands."

Mr. Teodorescu, a Romanian Lutheran layperson, described the work of AIDRom, established in 1991 as a cooperation between the Orthodox, the Reformed and Lutheran churches of Romania to distribute humanitarian relief aid and to be an
ecumenical platform. AIDRom's work has developed to include three main programs:

Education for Spiritual Renewal, which concentrates on ecumenical issues and ethnic reconciliation. "Training for
Transformation" dialogue workshops are held, as are inter-theological conferences.

Social Diaconia, which has included a shelter for street children as well as addressing needs of women, the handicapped,
the elderly and refugees.

Ecology, which raises public awareness on environmental problems within the churches and society and encourages
cooperation between theologians and ecologists.

The NCC has supported AIDRom's programs since 1994 through its Europe Office. "AIDRom not only develops programs, but facilitates social wefare programs among its member churches, as well as providing space for dialogue among the churches
in Romania," said the Rev. Paul Wilson, NCC Europe Office Director.

"The Orthodox Church in Romania has historically been very ecumenically minded," Rev. Wilson also commented. "It is an inspiration for all the countries in Eastern Europe."

About the NCC, Bishop Nifon said, "You think in terms of the whole of Europe, including the East. It is rewarding to hear about the totality of Europe in the NCC."