Abstract
Excerpt: We are troubled by the prospect that the ROC, as a member of the World Council of Churches (WCC), might spread its war propaganda on German soil and falsely portray itself as a victim when the WCC Assem bly convenes in Karlsruhe, Germany, from August 31 to September 8, 2022.
Despite your dedicated efforts, General Secretary Sauca, there are no indi cations of change in the ideological positions of the Moscow Patriarchate. On the contrary, your offer of a fraternal bridge was rejected by Patriarch Kirill with an incongruent reference to the Toronto Declaration of 1950 and followed up with renewed war propaganda and lies. We read this answer as an anti-ecumenical statement and question the ecumenical commitment of the ROC. There has been no sign of a change of heart, nor is there any willingness to engage in genuine dialogue. Such a break with the Christian tradition of reconciliation and peace must not go unanswered. Since the founding assembly in Amsterdam in 1948, the ecumenical move ment has been guided by the idea that “war is contrary to the will of God“. Is the ROC still rooted in the ecumenical movement in this situation when it justifies the Russian attack as a holy war? The presence of senior representatives of the Moscow Patriarchate in Karlsruhe would not only mean a public loss of trust for the churches in Germany–it would be a disaster in ecumenical, church policy and human terms.
Recommended Citation
Kunter, Katharina and Ueberschär, Ellen
(2022)
"Open Letter to the Synod of the Evangelical Church in Germany and the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches,"
Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe: Vol. 42
:
Iss.
5
, Article 5.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.55221/2693-2148.2364
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/ree/vol42/iss5/5