MEDIA MONITORING: About the “World Council of Churches”, that is, in fact, heresies and sects. Excerpts from the new book by Rev. Vsevolod Chaplin

World Council of Churches

WCC, World Council of Churches, Conseil oecumenique des Eglises, Okumenischer Rat der Kirchen, Consejo Mundial de Iglesias

Jurisdiction: ecumenism

Year founded:
1948
Place:
Geneva, Switzerland
Leaders: Iakov (Kukouzis) Members of the organization: Alexy (Ridiger), Alivizatos Hamilcar, Anthony (Melnikov), Anthony (Plamedala), Athanasius (Papas)… see further Directions: ecumenism,
globalism
Organizations

World Council of Churches, Conseil oecumenique des Eglises, Okumenischer Rat der Kirchen, Consejo Mundial de Iglesias

(1948) - the largest ecumenical organization, the implementation of one of the globalist utopias of the 20th century.

Content

• 1 ideology
• 2 story 2.1 events
• 2.2 Toronto Declaration
• 2.3 entry of the Russian Orthodox Church into the WCC
• 2.4 Lima Document
• 2.5 Lima Liturgy
• 2.6 World Conference in Santiago, Spain
• 2.7 Pan-Orthodox Conference in Thessalonica

Ecumenism and other religions

Despite the fact that Catholics are not members of the WCC, they took a step towards rapprochement after the Second Vatican Council and declared their respect for other religions in a number of documents. In general, they show greater openness to ecumenism than the Orthodox. For example, Poland, being Catholic for the most part, is quite open to other religions and there is no hostility towards them.

Protestants are firmly convinced of the benefits of the movement and its necessity. Confirming this, they openly invite everyone who recognizes the Holy Trinity to participate with them in communion. You can often hear their open prayers for the heads of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches.

ideology

One of the leading ecumenists of the 20th century, Nikolaos Nissiotis, declared the ecumenical movement to be a dynamic process of mutual exchange of gifts of grace between the Churches, which was supposed to serve the blessing of the whole world. He insisted that the activities of the officials of the World Council of Churches bring the Churches together, and this is the ecclesiological significance of the World Council of Churches, which, in his opinion, is one of the manifestations of Holy Pentecost.

According to Met. John (Zizioulas), the ecumenical movement is “a fellowship through which, that is, through common existence, work, theological reflection, suffering, witness, etc., and above all, sharing a common vision of what the Church is, participants in the movement can achieve not only the confession of the One Lord, but also the One Church.” He implies that the very conversations about God and the Church have ecclesiastical and spiritual significance, regardless of whether the speakers agree with each other and to what extent.

Despite the claims of ecumenists that they testify to Orthodoxy within the framework of the World Council of Churches, in fact, direct dogmatic dialogue has never taken place and is not taking place in the Council.

Thus, Orthodox ecumenists claim that for them the World Council of Churches is not a Church, but at the same time they completely ignore the fact that for the Protestant participants of the World Council of Churches it is precisely a super-church.

Orthodox ecumenists view participation in the World Council of Churches as a path to the restoration of Christian Church unity in faith, sacraments and piety. But the very format of ecumenical adogmatic communication does not allow dispelling the belief of Protestants that the World Council of Churches has already achieved unity in prayer and the Sacraments. And the Orthodox ecumenists themselves, by their participation in useless discussions, confirm to Protestants that the World Council of Churches has achieved church unity regardless of differences in faith.

Already in the 21st century, at the proposal of the Orthodox Churches within the framework of the World Council of Churches, it was decided to stop using the expression “ecumenical worship,” but this does not in any way prevent the fact that non-Orthodox participants of the World Council of Churches continue to consider joint prayers as ecumenical.

Former Secretary General of the World Council of Churches Konrad Reiser rightly Fr.

Attitude of church leaders

The opinions of Orthodox leaders regarding this issue vary; for example, Deacon Andrei Kuraev claims that ecumenism is not a heresy. And although most Orthodox leaders do not agree with him, he argues that this movement is just an interfaith dialogue and exchange of theological experience. Therefore, Kuraev views it as a positive and necessary phenomenon.

Patriarch Kirill is also close to recognizing it as a positive phenomenon, since he often spoke about the need for dialogue with other faiths and personally participated in such meetings (meeting with the Pope, for example). Although he understands that in the Orthodox world there is strong opposition and rejection of this movement. Because of this, as well as the extreme isolation of Orthodoxy, Patriarch Kirill often withstands harsh criticism of himself, especially after his words in defense of ecumenism.

February 12, 2016. Patriarch Kirill and Pope Francis met in Havana

story

The World Council of Churches arose through the merger of two leading ecumenical movements. floor. XX century: “Faith and church structure” and “Life and work.” The World Council of Churches gradually included other ecumenical organizations: the pacifist World Alliance for International Friendship through the Churches, the International Missionary Council and the World Council for Christian Education.

preparatory committee

The decision to unite the “Faith and Church Organization” and “Life and Work” movements was made in 1937. In 1938, a preparatory committee for the creation of the World Council of Churches was created, the general secretary of which was the famous ecumenical figure Vissert Hooft. Archbishop Herman (Strinopoulos) and Fr. Georgy Florovsky were members of the organizing committee of the World Council of Churches and are the founders of the World Council of Churches.

events

• I General Assembly of the WCC (22 August 1948)
• II General Assembly of the WCC (August 15, 1954)
• III General Assembly of the WCC (November 19, 1961)
• Church and Society (conference) (July 12, 1966)
• Consultation on the Responsibility of Churches in International Affairs, The Hague, 1967 (12 April 1967)
• IV General Assembly of the WCC (4 July 1968)
• Meeting of the Central Committee of the WCC, 1973 (August 17, 1973)
• Patriarch Pimen's visit to the WCC (September 16, 1973)
• Church and Society - 1974 (conference) (June 24, 1974)
• V General Assembly of the WCC (November 23, 1975)
• First Women's Orthodox Conference (September 1976)
• Consultation “Christian Witness Today in the Socialist Countries of Europe” (March 26, 1979)
• WCC Student Conference on Faith, Science and the Future (July 6, 1979)
• World Conference on Faith, Science and the Future (July 12, 1979)
• Consultation on women's equality (July 1981)
• Central Committee of the World Council of Churches. August 1981 (August 17, 1981)
• VI General Assembly of the WCC (24 July 1983)
• Meeting of the WCC Executive Committee. Kinshasa 1986 (9 March 1986)
• Meeting of the WCC Executive Committee. Reykjavik 1986 (15 September 1986)
• Commission Consultation on Interchurch Relief, Refugee Relief and World Service (November 19, 1986)
• Meeting of the Central Committee of the WCC, 1988 (August 10, 1988)
• XX General Meeting of ESME (October 9, 1988)
• 40th session of the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches (July 17, 1989)
• Justice, Peace and Creation Integrity (conference) (March 15, 1990)
• Meeting of the Central Committee of the WCC, 1990 (September 22, 1990)
• VII General Assembly of the WCC (February 7, 1991)
• 44th meeting of the Central Committee of the WCC (August 21, 1992)
• VIII General Assembly of the WCC (December 3, 1998)
• Come, Holy Spirit, heal and reconcile (conference) (May 9, 2005)
• IX General Assembly of the WCC (February 14, 2006)
• Meeting of the Central Committee of the WCC, 2006 (August 30, 2006)
• X General Assembly of the WCC (October 30, 2013)
• Meeting of the Central Committee of the WCC, 2021 (November 20, 2019)

Toronto Declaration

In 1948, in opposition to the creation of the World Council of Churches, a Conference of Primates and Representatives of the Autocephalous Orthodox Churches was held in Moscow, at which the ecumenical movement was condemned as inconsistent with the goals of Christian life. The meeting decided to abstain from participation in the Amsterdam Assembly of the World Council of Churches. In the resolution on the ecumenical issue, this refusal is motivated by the fact that “the contemporary ecumenical movement does not ensure the cause of the reunification of the Churches through grace-filled ways and means.”

Proof of this can be found in the declaration “The Church, the Churches and the World Council of Churches”, adopted in 1950 in Toronto and which is still the justification for the participation of the Orthodox Churches in the World Council of Churches. Among the authors: Archbishop. Herman (Strinopoulos), Fr. Georgy Florovsky, Hamilcar Alivisatos.

The declaration states that the member churches of the World Council of Churches are completely sovereign and have the right to reject any statement or statement of the World Council of Churches. The whole authority of the World Council of Churches depends on the free acceptance of its actions by the churches if they find it right and useful for themselves. Membership in the World Council of Churches does not obligate us to recognize other churches as churches in the proper sense of the word. The Declaration states: “The World Council cannot and should not be based on any one particular concept of the Church. It does not prejudge ecclesiological problems. In the World Council there is a place for the ecclesiology of any Church that is ready to participate in ecumenical dialogue and adhere to the basis of the Council... No Church is obliged to change its ecclesiology as a result of membership in the World Council.” Thus, the World Council of Churches opened up the possibility for denominations to join it without agreeing on a common doctrinal basis.

Thanks to the “Declaration of Toronto,” “Orthodox” ecumenists consider themselves not bound by participation in the World Council of Churches and supposedly do not allow interference in their faith. But at the same time they take the same position of non-interference in relation to the countless errors of all other members of the World Council of Churches, and thereby place the participation of Orthodox in the World Council of Churches on a completely adogmatic basis, which serves as a temptation even for Protestants.

entry of the Russian Orthodox Church into the WCC

In April 1955, the World Council of Churches approached the Russian Orthodox Church with a proposal for a meeting. This meeting took place on August 7-9, 1958 in Utrecht. The World Council of Churches was represented by a delegation consisting of: Franklin Fry, Chairman of the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches, Vissert Hooft, and Met. Iakovos of Malta (Patriarchate of Constantinople). The Russian Orthodox Church was represented by Metropolitan. Krutitsky and Kolomensky Nikolai, chairman of the DECR, bishop. Mikhail (Chub) and Alexey Buevsky, DECR secretary.

In the summer of 1959, Fr. Vitaly Borovoy got acquainted with the work of the World Council of Churches in Geneva and was present as an observer at the regular meeting of the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches on the island of Rhodes (Greece).

In December 1959, the first official delegation of the World Council of Churches, headed by Vissert Huft, arrived in Moscow.

In 1960, at a meeting of the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches in St. Andrews, Scotland, Fr. Vitaly Borovoy and A.F. Shishkin.

In the fall of 1960, at the headquarters of the World Council of Churches in Geneva, a meeting took place between Wissert Hooft and Bishop. Nikodim (Rotov), ​​DECR chairman, and DECR secretary Alexei Buevsky. Discussion of issues related to the entry of the Russian Orthodox Church into the World Council of Churches was continued there in March 1961, during the next visit of Bishop. Nicodemus.

On July 18, 1961, at the extraordinary Council of Bishops, Metropolitan. Nikodim (Rotov) makes a report on the necessity and timeliness of joining the World Council of Churches. At that time the final decision on joining the Council is made.

In 1965, through secret negotiations, Vissert Hooft managed to agree on the admission of the Serbian Orthodox Church to the World Council of Churches without it signing the necessary basic documents of the Council and without discussing this issue in the Church.

From 1967 to 1975 Fr. John Meyendorff is the moderator of the World Council of Churches Commission on Faith and Church Order.

At this time, the movement of ecumenism towards worldology and the related “theology of revolution” became increasingly evident.

In the same year, the Catholic Church became a member of the World Council of Churches Commission on Faith and Church Order.

In 1971, the World Council for Christian Education joined the World Council of Churches.

In January 1971, a meeting of the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches “Dialogue with people of other religious beliefs” was held in Addis Ababa. The key report was Metropolitan. George (Khodra) on the topic “Christianity in a pluralistic world – the Work of the Holy Spirit.” He called upon Christians to “know the true spiritual life of the unbaptized” and to enrich their own experience with “the riches of the universal religious community”, since, supposedly, “The same Christ is perceived as light when grace visits the Brahmin, Buddhist or Muslim in the reading of their own sacred scriptures.” "

In the beginning. In the 1970s, within the framework of the World Council of Churches, the idea of ​​missionary liturgy was born among Orthodox modernists. The author of this concept, destructive for the Church, was the Romanian theologian Fr. Ion Bria, Member of the World Council of Churches Commission on Global Mission and Evangelism.

Lima Document

By 1982, a memorandum of the World Council of Churches Commission on Faith and Church Order, “Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry,” was agreed upon, drawn up under the leadership of Nikolaos Nissiotis. Bud took part in the work of the commission. Metropolitan John (Zizioulas). This memorandum offers a teaching on the Sacraments that is supposedly common to all 300 member churches and sects of the World Council of Churches.

Lima Liturgy

Joint celebration of the Eucharist by various Christian denominations (“Lima Liturgy”) during the VI General Assembly in Vancouver.

T.N. The "Lima Liturgy" was a compilation of Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox services. It was argued that the Churches, coming together under the World Council of Churches, enriched each other's traditions, which was seen as an "ecumenical action of the Holy Spirit" aimed at creating a new "ecumenical tradition."

In 1985, representatives of the Orthodox Local Churches at a conference in Boston largely approved the Lima Document.

World Conference in Santiago, Spain

In 1993, the World Council of Churches holds the World Commission Conference on Faith and Church Order in Santiago, Spain.

Metropolitan George (Khodr) stated in his speech:

Christians' commitment to Christ as Truth should not obscure the truths scattered throughout the religious traditions around us. All truths come from one Divine source... Dialogue is a priority for us, because in the search for Divine truth hidden in various words and symbols, it allows us to penetrate beyond the boundaries of religious traditions... We worship the same Christ in His journey through the spaces of different religions.

Met. also took part in the conference. John (Zizioulas).

In 1997, the Georgian and Bulgarian Orthodox Churches left the World Council of Churches, and the Serbian Church was preparing to leave the World Council of Churches, but the final decision was never made.

Pan-Orthodox Conference in Thessalonica

In the spring of 1998, a Pan-Orthodox Conference was convened in Thessaloniki (Greece) on the initiative of the Russian and Serbian Orthodox Churches.

The meeting participants testified that over all the years of the existence of the World Council of Churches, the doctrinal and moral gap between Orthodox and non-Orthodox not only has not decreased, but has even increased. The meeting also called on Orthodox participants in ecumenical assemblies to refrain from holding joint services. Despite all this, the final document insists on the need for participation in the World Council of Churches and condemns “destructive anti-ecumenism.”

Council members[10]

Orthodox churches

• Albanian
• Alexandria
• American
• Antioch
• Cyprus
• Constantinople (Ecumenical Patriarchate)
• Polish
• Romanian
• Russian (Moscow Patriarchate)
• Czechoslovakian
• Hellasic

Ancient Eastern churches

• Armenian Apostolic Church (Echmiadzin Catholicosate)
• Assyrian Church of the East
• Coptic Orthodox Church
• Eritrean Orthodox Church
• Ethiopian Orthodox Church
• Malankara Orthodox Church
• Syro-Jacobite Orthodox Church

Protestant churches

• African Island Church Sudan
• African Christian Church and Schools
• African Church of the Holy Spirit
• African Israelite Nineveh Church
• African Episcopal Methodist Church
• African Episcopal Methodist Zion Church
• African Protestant Church
• American Baptist churches in the USA
• Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia
• Anglican Church of Japan
• Anglican Church of Australia
• Anglican Church of Canada
• Anglican Church of Kenya
• Anglican Church of Korea
• Anglican Church of Tanzania
• Anglican Church of the Southern Cone of America (Iglesia Anglicana del Cono Sur de las Americas)
• Associated Churches of Christ in New Zealand
• Association of Baptist Churches in Rwanda
• Association of the Evangelical Reformation Church of Burkina Faso
• Association The Church of God
• Bangladeshi Baptist Church Sanga
• Baptist Association of El Salvador
• Haitian Baptist Agreement
• Baptist Convention of Nicaragua
• Danish Baptist Association
• Union of Baptists of Great Britain
• Association of Baptists of Hungary
• Union of Baptists of New Zealand
• Betaxaya Christian Church
• Baptist Alliance of Bihar of Bengal Orissa
• Bolivian Evangelical Lutheran Church
• British Province of the Moravian Church
• Canadian Yearly Meeting Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)
• Chinese Christian Council
• Christian Bible Church
• Christians in Canada
• Christians in the USA
• Church of England
• Church of Sweden
• Evangelical Pentecostal Mission of Angola

Non-Council Members

• The Seventh-day Adventist Church participates in the work of the Council as an observer[11]
• Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ingria
• The Roman Catholic Church, whose representatives serve as observers on the Council.
• Bulgarian Orthodox Church: withdrew in 1998, continues to participate in its work as an observer[2]
• Georgian Orthodox Church: withdrew in 1997.
• Old Believers: Russian Orthodox Old Believer Church, Russian Old Orthodox Church, non-priest consent
• Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod
• Siberian Evangelical Lutheran Church
• Southern Baptist Convention
• International Union of Evangelical Christian Baptist Churches
• Euro-Asian Federation of Unions of Evangelical Christian Baptists and its member unions: membership automatically ceased after the liquidation of the AECB in 1992

female priesthood

Since 1947, the World Council of Churches has been organizing work in the Orthodox Church to promote women's equality in the Church and the female priesthood. Here the 1947 questionnaire “The Life and Activities of Women in the Church” played a key role. This survey, initiated by Vissert Hooft on the eve of the First General Assembly of the WCC in 1948, was sent to 50 different Churches and denominations, including the Russian Orthodox diaspora and Greece.

The influential Women's Ecumenical Coordination Group operated from 1968 to 1972. The group organized a conference in Nicosia, Cyprus, in May 1972, with the participation of Orthodox and Catholics.

In 1976, the World Council of Churches organized and financed the First Orthodox Women's Conference.

management

Jacob (Kukouzis),

members

Alexy (Ridiger), Alivizatos Hamilcar, Anthony (Melnikov), Anthony (Plemedyale), Afanasy (Papas), Bea Augustin, Ber-Sizhel Elizabeth, Bria Ion, Butenev Petr Mikhailovich, Vasily (Karayannis), Vladimir (Kotlyarov), Voronov Livery Arkadyevich, Vyzhanov Igor Evgenievich, Gennady (Limuris), Hromadka Joseph, Jeremiah (Ankhimyuk), Kassian (Bezobrazov), Kishkovsky Leonid Aleksandrovich, Lossky Nikolay Vladimirovich, Martzelos Georgy, Meyendorff Ioann Feofilovich, Meliton (Hatzis), Mott John, Nelyubova Margarita Borisovna , Nikodim (Rotov), ​​Nikolai (Ghika), Nikolai (Korneanu), Nissiotis Nikos, Osipov Alexey Ilyich, Pankratiy (Donchev), Panteleimon (Rodopoulos), Parfeniy (Kunidis), Pitirim (Nechaev), Romanidis Ioann, Sarychev Vasily Dmitrievich, Sergiy (Fomin), Sizonenko Dimitri Viktorovich, Stefan (Botsa), Stefan (Igumnov), Tarazar Constance, Fedorov Vladimir Filippovich, Theophilus (Yiannopoulos), Filaret (Vakhromeev), Florovsky Georgy Vasilievich, Harakas Stanley, Chrysostomos (Konstantinidis), Huttunen Heikki , Tsetsis Georgiy, Chaplin Vsevolod Anatolievich, Chitescu Nikolai... the following results, Belopopsky Alexander, Bos Hildo, Weymarn Alexander Fedorovich, Grdzelidze Tamara Davidovna, Dovgyallo Grigory Anatolievich, Eliseev Andrey, Sabev Todor, Stylianopoulos Feodor, Teteryatnikov Nikolai Georgievich

representation of the Orthodox Churches at the World Council of Churches

Patriarchate of Constantinople

Immediately after the founding of the World Council of Churches, a permanent delegation of the Patriarchate of Constantinople was accredited to it. A permanent office opened in 1955[1].

Representatives

• 1955 - 1959 - bishop. Jacob (Kukouzis).
• 1959 - 1985 - Metropolitan. Emilian (Timiadis).
• 1985 - 1999 - Fr. George Tsetsis.
• 2000 - 2008 - o. Benedict (to John).
• 2008 - 2015 - George Limopoulos.
• since November 2015 - Archbishop. Job (Gecha).

Russian Orthodox Church

Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary. Representation of the Russian Orthodox Church at the WCC[2]. Representatives

• 1962 - 1964 - Fr. Vladimir (Kotlyarov).
• 1966 - 1968 - bishop. Vladimir (Sabodan).
• November 28, 1968 - December 16, 1969 - Fr. Vitaly Borovoy (acting).
• 1969 - 1972 - bishop. Hermogenes (Orekhov).
• 1972 - 1974 - Fr. Kirill (Gundyaev).
• 1974 - 1978 - bishop. Macarius (Whistler).
• 1978 - 1984 - Fr. Vitaly Borovoy.
• 1984 — — ep. Sergius (Fomin).
• 1993 - 1998 - Fr. Nestor (Zhilyaev).
• O. Mikhail Gundyaev.

Secretaries of the Representative Office
Grigory Skobey (1973), Boris Vik (1975 - 1979), Sergiy Kiselev (since 1983), Alexander Karpenko, Boris Nelyubin.