Both Lungs

Blessed John Paul II famously said “Europe has two lungs, it will never breathe easily until it uses both of them” (Euntes in mundum, 1988).

He was referring to the division between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church, split in about the year 1054 over matters more relating to politics and misunderstanding than to doctrine or dogma.

Over a thousand years, this division has hardened in the hearts of the leaders, clergy and lay, of both Churches.

The low point was undoubtedly the horror known as the Fourth Crusade. The Orthodox have every right to point to this atrocity.

But surely after 800 years, some forgiveness might be in order?

Then Peter approaching asked him, “Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?”

Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.”

(The Holy Gospel According to Saint Matthew, Chapter 18, verses 21 – 22)

Since the late 1960s, there have been efforts by both sides (really, by certain people on both sides) to try to bridge the gap. These talks have picked up steam in the last ten years, particularly under the guidance of Pope Benedict XVI, who was friends with Patriarch Kirill of Moscow.

Even so, the warming of relations has been slow, and many in both Churches are dead set against any sort of “doctrinal compromise” with the other. Fair enough.

It does seem, however, that the deeper the theologians look at the doctrinal differences, the more they resolve themselves into mis-characterizations and mistranslations.

Despite all the differences, all the hurt, all the centuries of misunderstanding and mistrust, yesterday the Œcumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I, led an Orthodox delegation to the Installation Mass of Pope Francis.

Not only that, during the Mass, the two men exchanged the Kiss of Peace.

Many news outlets have been running a variation on the story that “this is the first time in a thousand years that the Patriarch of Constantinople has attended” such a rite.

I didn’t think this was right when I first read it, and as news source after source parroted it, I tried to research whether or not this has ever happened before. Turns out I wasn’t the only one.

The Orthodox Church in America posted a great story that says this:

Amid the crush of news reports in the past month that followed Pope Benedict’s unprecedented resignation from the papacy, one of the most intriguing was the decision by His All-Holiness, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, to attend Pope Francis’ installation as Bishop of Rome. The occasion is being presented in the media as something that has not happened since the ecclesiastical schism that separated Christian East and Christian West in the eleventh century. But that characterization is almost certainly wrong–this is quite likely the first time in history that a Bishop of Constantinople will attend the installation of a Bishop of Rome. And this is a profoundly bold step in ecumenical relations between the Orthodox and the Roman Catholics, one that could have lasting significance.

…

His All-Holiness’ decision to travel to Rome for Pope Francis’ installation as Roman bishop is an extraordinary event in the history of Christianity. And it is significant for reasons far beyond its novelty. First and foremost it is a powerful symbolic gesture for the cause of Christian unity. It demonstrates in unprecedented fashion the extent to which the Ecumenical Patriarch considers the relationship with the Roman Catholic Church to be a priority. For their part, members of the Vatican staff have responded to this grand gesture and have arranged for the reading of the Gospel at the installation to be sung in Greek (rather than Latin) in recognition of the fact that the Ecumenical Patriarch has taken this unprecedented step.

By all means, read the whole article! Lots of good, crunchy history there.

There are many folks who are playing this down, but this Catholic agrees with the Orthodox author of the article: this is “an extraordinary event in the history of Christianity”.

Lest you think this is just the ecumenical whim of one man, here’s the official list of the Orthodox hierarchs present at the Mass:

Ecumenical Patriarchate
His All Holiness BARTHOLOMEW (Ecumenical Patriarch)
His Eminence Metropolitan GENNADIOS
His Eminence JOHN (Metropolitan of Pergamon)
His Eminence Metropolitan TARASIOS
Mr Karlos Irakli TARINAS

Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria and All Africa
His Eminence Archbishop SERAPHIM

Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East
His Eminence Metropolitan SILUAN

Russian Orthodox Church
His Eminence Metropolitan HILARION
His Excellency Bishop SERGY
Hieromonk ANTONIY

Patriarchate of Georgia
His Eminence Metropolitan GERASIME
Reverend Father Gia ZVIADADZE
Reverend Father IOANE

Serbian Orthodox Church
His Eminence Metropolitan AMFILOHIJE
Protopresbyter Obren JOVANOVIC
Protodeacon Igor BALABAN

Patriarchate of Romania
His Eminence Metropolitan IOSIF
His Grace SILUAN
Revd Deacon EFREM

Orthodox Church of Cyprus
His Eminence Metropolitan NIKIFOROS
His Eminence Metropolitan ISAIAS

Orthodox Church of Greece
His Grace Bishop DIONYSIOS
Most Reverend Archimandrite IGNATIOS

Orthodox Church of Albania
His Eminence Metropolitan JOHN

Ukrainian Orthodox Church
His Eminence Metropolitan PLATON
His Eminence Metropolitan ANTONIY
Revd Archimandrite FILIPP

Orthodox Church in America
His Eminence Metropolitan TIKHON
Revd Father Eric TOSI

This might be what we call a trend.

I find it a delicious bit of God’s poetry that the Pope to whose inaugural Mass these Orthodox have come has, himself, but one lung.