In this essay, Orthodox priest and peacemaker Georgy Chistyakov nostalgically recalls the period of warming Orthodox-Catholic relations in the 1960s and 1970s. The author also critiques contemporary anti-ecumenical fundamentalism, which is particularly evident in the reluctance of some Orthodox Christians to participate in joint prayers for Christian unity with Catholics and Protestants. Abundantly quoting Orthodox and Catholic theologians, Fr. Georgy Chistyakov highlights the spiritual value of Christian unity, which Jesus Christ calls His disciples to achieve.
"On the Union of All"
Fr. Georgy Chistyakov
I recall the 1970s, the era of Metropolitan Nikodim and Cardinal Johannes Willebrands, when it seemed that not only hostility but even mere wariness in relations between Catholics and Orthodox had definitively faded into the past. Cardinals in red cassocks would fly to Moscow and participate in services at the Yelokhovo Cathedral. Many years were proclaimed to Pope Paul VI from the pulpit, and Orthodox grandmothers would seek blessings from Catholic hierarchs and even ordinary Latin priests, such as Father Jacques Loew. None of this seemed strange to anyone. No one in Russia intended to merge with Catholics (nor in the West with the Orthodox) into a single structure. Yet, for the most part, we understood that the era of religious wars had passed and was gone forever. It also became clear then that, in the essentials, we Christians of different confessions are united—that what divides us and sets us against each other are particulars, not the essence of our faith.
All Orthodox people gladly received gifts from Brussels: books from Irina Mikhailovna Posnova, secretly brought into the USSR by Western diplomats. These included Bibles, often referred to as "Brussels Bibles," two different editions of the New Testament, Akathists, prayer books, The Little Flowers of Saint Francis, The Path to Salvation by Theophan the Recluse, and Sergei Bolshakov's fragrant book On the Heights of the Spirit, which told of practitioners of the Jesus Prayer in monasteries and in the world. No one was alarmed by the fact that the publisher, Life with God, was Catholic and funded by the Vatican.
Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras and Pope Paul VI. October 26, 1967. Rome
"We are coming to the realization of the need for an integral Christianity that encompasses the entire spectrum of spiritual paths and experiences," wrote Fr. Alexander Men during those years. "The causes of division," he argued, "lie outside the purely spiritual sphere." Essentially, this was the conclusion reached by Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras at that time. On December 7, 1965, they (the Pope, the Patriarch, and his Synod) solemnly declared that they were "firmly resolved not to miss any opportunity to manifest gestures inspired by love that could contribute to the development of the fraternal relations begun between the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church of Constantinople."
The Patriarch and the Pope, referring to the mutual anathemas that the Orthodox and Catholics hurled at each other in 1054, declared that they “regret the offensive words, unfounded accusations, and condemnatory gestures which, on both sides, marked the sad events of that time.” They emphasized their desire to “remove from the Church’s memory and environment the acts of excommunication that followed, and the recollection of which to this day serves as an obstacle to rapprochement in the spirit of love, consigning them to oblivion.” In essence, this marked the end of the nearly thousand-year schism that had divided Catholics and Orthodox, and more broadly, the East and the West.
It is clear (and both the Pope and the Patriarch were well aware of this) that this “gesture of justice and mutual forgiveness” was “insufficient to resolve the differences, both ancient and recent.” However, the foundation for genuine peace among Christians—the peace for which Jesus Himself prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, saying, “May they all be one”—was already laid at this moment. “I believe,” wrote Fr. Alexander Men around this time, “that the prayer ‘for the union of all’ will gain strength when it ceases to be just a formula and is filled with a living, concrete content.” This very living content of the liturgical prayer for the union of all—recited, perhaps not by coincidence, at the very beginning of the Divine Liturgy—was deeply felt in the late 1960s and 1970s. It was truly a time when Christianity began to recognize itself as integral and, in the words of Fr. Alexander Men, “encompassing the entire spectrum of spiritual paths and experiences.”
These were the years when The Little Flowers of St. Francis were read alongside the Chronicle of the Seraphim-Diveyevo Convent, and when St. Francis or Thérèse of Lisieux came to be regarded as, so to speak, “our” saints—not foreign, not Western, not Roman, but truly ours. The Story of a Soul by St. Thérèse was typed on typewriters and secretly reproduced on mimeograph machines (the precursor to modern photocopiers), just as frequently as Alexandra Yarmolovich’s book on Fr. Alexei Mechev or the famous Unseen Warfare by Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain.
Catholics, and especially Greek Catholics (Catholics of the Eastern Rite), were despised by the Soviet authorities. Yet we understood perfectly well that this hatred stemmed solely from the fact that the Pope and the Vatican did not believe the propaganda spread by Soviet agitators about how well believers lived in the USSR. The Vatican consistently demanded that the Soviet government change its policies toward religion and abandon (at least partially) its aggressive state atheism. This was precisely the demand made by Pope Paul VI in 1967 when N. V. Podgorny visited him at the Vatican.
Today, the situation has changed. Ecumenism is rarely discussed and often with disapproval. I attribute this to the fact that, finally liberated from the state of suppression—or simply put, slavery—that it endured during the Soviet years, the Orthodox consciousness is now primarily concerned with self-identification, seeking an answer to the question: What is Orthodoxy? But how can one understand oneself? First and foremost, by distancing oneself from others—from those who, for some reason, pray and cross themselves differently. I believe this explains the widespread reluctance among Orthodox Christians today to engage in fraternal dialogue with Catholics and Protestants, sometimes going so far as to declare all things Catholic as heretical, false, and, above all, irrelevant to Orthodox believers. Catholicism seems dangerous to many today only because a person who has recently discovered Orthodoxy and does not yet fully understand what it is fears that an acquaintance with Catholicism or Protestantism will distract them from their primary goal—growing into Orthodoxy.
At the same time, it is absurd to forget that Catholics and Protestants are not enemies of the Orthodox but trusted friends, proven during times of persecution. After all, it was the Roman Popes, starting with Benedict XV—referred to as the “Russian Pope” for his efforts to save Nicholas II and his family—who stood in defense of Orthodox Christians. He instructed Cardinal Gasparri, the Vatican’s Secretary of State, to send Lenin a telegram with the following message: “From a reliable source, it is reported that members of your party are persecuting servants of God, especially those of the Orthodox faith. The Holy Father, Benedict XV, solemnly urges you to issue the strictest orders to ensure due respect for priests, regardless of their religion.” Upon learning of this telegram, Metropolitan Sergius of Vladimir and Shuya (the future Patriarch) sent gratitude to the Holy See on behalf of the Holy Synod but was soon arrested by the Cheka. Saint Patriarch Tikhon, in a letter to the Latin Metropolitan von Ropp, wrote that “all Orthodox believers were greatly comforted to learn from the newspapers that the Roman Pontiff had raised His voice, through Cardinal Gasparri, to Chicherin regarding the persecution of the Russian Church.”
When Benedict XV learned of the famine in the Volga region on August 5, 1919, he appealed to all civilized nations to collect donations for the starving. On December 21, 1921, he transferred 500,000 lira to Dr. Fridtjof Nansen, High Commissioner for Relief in Russia, to aid all those in need “regardless of their religion.” Finally, when Patriarch Tikhon was arrested, it was Benedict XV who demanded his immediate release. These are just a few of the many examples of how the Catholic Church responded to the persecution of believers in Soviet Russia. Let us also remember who, throughout the entire period of communist oppression, published and secretly delivered copies of the Holy Scriptures to the USSR: Catholics and Protestants. And if we recall who was the first to bless their audience on Soviet television, we must admit it was Ronald Reagan, a devout Christian and Protestant.
The official representative of the Holy See in Russia, Archbishop Antonio Mennini, recently remarked that our task as believers is “not to attempt to make others like us but to share with them the transformative joy of knowing God and communing with Him, so that others may become themselves—just as unique in God’s eyes as they are distinct from us.” “Especially today, in a world torn apart by discord and contradictions,” Mennini said, “Christian churches are called to proclaim the saving mystery of Christ’s Resurrection.” Speaking about the need for the restoration of church unity, he emphasized that “we can achieve unity not through uniformity but through a unity that is possible only through uniqueness.” “Just as individual sounds form a chord,” he added. And how can we not recall here the words of Fr. Alexander Men about “the need for an integral Christianity that encompasses the entire spectrum of spiritual paths and experiences”?
The Christian West is already prepared to enrich itself through the spiritual treasures of the East. Works such as The Way of a Pilgrim, My Life in Christ by John of Kronstadt, and many others have long been translated into French, English, and Italian. Saint Seraphim of Sarov is venerated in the West alongside Catholic saints. Churches are named in his honor, his icons are widespread, and entire monastic communities consider him their heavenly patron. Therefore, it seems inappropriate to hear a modern Russian researcher say that “St. Seraphim is something we present to the entire Western world, which has fallen away from Orthodoxy, a world that is deaf and blind to the Taboric light of the Transfiguration.” Saint Seraphim is not only the beloved saint of Fr. Vsevolod Roshko, who was an Eastern Rite Catholic, but also of thousands of French, Italian, and other Catholics, many of whom travel to Russia specifically to visit Diveyevo and venerate his relics.
In the early 1990s, a book exhibition dedicated to French Catholic literature was organized at the Library of Foreign Literature. Among the books displayed was an illustrated biography of Saint Seraphim of Sarov, specifically written for French children. How can anyone claim after this that the West is deaf to the legacy of the Elder of Sarov? As for the Taboric Light, it is worth noting that the works of Gregory Palamas have long been translated into Western languages, and Catholic theologians have included them among the spiritual treasures that Western theology is proud of. To understand this, one need only read Cardinal Charles Journet's review of John Meyendorff's book on Gregory Palamas, published in French in 1959. In general, the assertion that the West has fallen away from Orthodoxy is, at the very least, bold. Catholic, Anglican, and Protestant theologians regard Orthodoxy with the utmost respect and, I would say, reverence. I can say this as someone who regularly lectures on Orthodox spirituality in the West.
At the opening of the second session of the Council (September 29, 1963), Pope Paul VI reaffirmed the Catholic Church's shared responsibility with other Churches for ecclesiastical divisions. Addressing representatives of Christian Churches present at the Council, the Pope said:
"Our voice trembles, our heart beats faster, for their presence here is an inexpressible joy and a source of immense hope for us, as division causes us deep pain. If we are to blame for this division, we humbly implore God for forgiveness and also ask these brothers for forgiveness if they feel wronged by us. As for us, we are ready to forgive the harm done to the Church and to forget the great pain caused by the prolonged division. May the Father in Heaven mercifully accept this declaration of ours and restore true fraternal peace among us all."
It was no coincidence that on August 9, 1978, Patriarch Pimen, during the litia for the newly departed Paul VI at the Epiphany Patriarchal Cathedral, remarked that the late Pope "actively contributed to the transition of the Catholic-Orthodox dialogue of love into a theological dialogue, on the threshold of which, by the grace of God, we stand today" (Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate, 1978, No. 10, p. 55). The Patriarch emphasized that during Paul VI's pontificate, "a fraternal character of relations was established between the Russian Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches, which deeply gladdens us today."
Reading the correspondence between Fr. Alexander Men and Fr. Vsevolod Roshko, who lived in Jerusalem and was a Catholic priest of the Byzantine Rite, one cannot help but be struck by Fr. Vsevolod's remarkable persistence in defending the Eastern perspective and, I would say, his occasional unjust criticism of Western spirituality. For example, he writes that Latin Rite Catholics have their “distinctive path of prayer... which is unfortunately accompanied by a neglect of communal prayer.” He continues: “Sometimes Catholics pray together, but this does not necessarily mean that their prayer is truly communal.” This reproach seems unfair. The Liturgy of the Hours, which every Catholic priest is required to pray, is essentially no different from Vespers, Compline, the Midnight Office, and Matins, as found in the Slavonic Horologion. Matins (laudes), Vespers, and Compline are always communal prayers, invariably performed by all the brothers in a monastery, and only recited individually by parish priests. Even in such cases, the priest, while seemingly praying alone with God, is in reality joining his personal prayer to the communal prayer of the entire People of God. The purpose of the prayer rule contained in the Breviary is precisely this: that every prayer be offered in the spirit of Psalm 132 (Ecce quam bonum et quam jucundum habitare fratres in unum – “Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity”). “Christian prayer,” wrote Pope Paul VI in 1970 in the apostolic constitution Laudis canticum (Song of Praise), “is, above all, the prayer of the entire human community gathered by Christ. Each person participates in this prayer, which is the prayer of one Body.”
The subject of communal prayer, including prayer shared by Christians of different confessions, is particularly important. In the encyclical Ut unum sint (That They May Be One), with the telling subtitle “On the Ecumenical Commitment,” published on May 25, 1995, Pope John Paul II emphasized the necessity of prayer for unity. “On the ecumenical journey toward unity, priority undoubtedly belongs to common prayer, which unites those who pray around Christ Himself. If Christians, despite their divisions, can continue to unite around Christ in common prayer, the awareness will gradually grow of how limited are the things that divide them compared to the immense reality that unites them.”
At the same time, from the perspective of many Orthodox radicals, “the most common sin of Orthodox ecumenists is joint prayer with heretics.” “To clarify,” writes Hieromonk Vsevolod (Filipiev), a professor of Patrology at Holy Trinity Seminary and a staff member of the Holy Trinity Monastery publishing house in Jordanville, USA, “heretics should be understood as all ‘heterodox Christians’ who have deviated from the fullness of Catholic teaching, having chosen and preferred their erroneous opinions and traditions at the expense of the unchanging and universal tradition of the Church.” According to Hieromonk Vsevolod, “prayer by Orthodox Christians with heretics, and even more so with non-Christians, is a spiritual corruption born of ecumenism, and prayerful spiritual communion with heterodox Christians, who are infected with a very subtle spiritual delusion, mystically poisons Orthodox souls.”
This position, of course, is not shared by all Orthodox Christians and stands in stark contrast to what Pope John Paul II asserts when he emphasizes that prayer uniting Catholics with their separated brethren is “the soul of the entire ecumenical movement.”
“Ecumenical prayer is the prayer of brothers and sisters. Precisely because they are separated, they place their future unity and communion in Christ with even greater hope.” This was written by John Paul II in 1995, nearly repeating one of Fr. Alexander Men’s central ideas: “how insignificant what divides us is compared to what unites us.”
The perspective of Orthodox radicals is that praying with Christians of other denominations is unacceptable. In contrast, the Pope emphasizes that prayer provides a gracious path leading to unity. The fundamental difference lies in this: the Pope deems it necessary to seek a path toward unity, while proponents of distancing from the Christian West believe that no unity with “heretics” is possible, as unity with them leads to falling away from God.
Yet, this brings to mind the 1970s and the annual prayers for Christian unity, as well as the Easter and Christmas services at the Church of St. Louis in Moscow. These services were regularly attended by an Orthodox hierarch, who would also pray and give an episcopal blessing to the congregation at the end of the service. For Moscow’s Catholics, who at the time had no bishop, this was always a significant event. This was genuine prayer for unity—both possible and undoubtedly necessary for Christians of different denominations. As noted by the well-known Orthodox publicist and publisher Nikita Struve during a broadcast on Echo of Moscow radio: “Ecumenism, as a movement, is a given and, moreover, a duty of Christians. For if Christians do not maintain fraternal relations among themselves, who will believe in the message of Christianity?”
Published in the Herald of Europe, 2007, No. 21.