The Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain exists to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ in the United Kingdom, and is an Archdiocese of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. The Archdiocese is a vibrant, international, and ever more youthful community increasingly involved with wider society and its many platforms. Orthodox Christians seek to engage and be engaged by our brothers and sisters from other Christian communities, witnessing to Christ in British society, fostering mutual understanding and addressing prejudices which stem from unfamiliarity.
Orthodox-Catholic Relations in the UK
It is no coincidence that Pope Benedict XVI titled one of his books on ecumenism “I Have Called You Friends”,[1] referring to John 15:15, where Jesus shares God’s vision of love for all people: ” I no longer call you servants … but I have called you friends”. A central part of this book features letters exchanged between then-Professor Ratzinger and Orthodox Metropolitan Damaskinos of Switzerland. Metropolitan Damaskinos was a student of Professor Ratzinger for some time before the latter became Pope Benedict XVI. In this interesting exchange, the two friends and academic collaborators share letters on various Orthodox-Catholic issues. A significant point of discussion was a Declaration of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith “Dominus Iesus”. A declaration written in the year 2000 while Cardinal Ratzinger was prefect of the same Congregation, explicitly states the exclusive claim by the Roman Catholic Church to be the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, a statement that some felt undermined previous efforts in ecumenical dialogue.[2] The conversation maintains a fraternal tone, addressing painful and divisive issues with honesty. This exchange may serve as an inspiration for Orthodox Christians, encouraging us to regard all members of society as friends and to approach and address complex issues with clarity and honesty. From this friendship comes one of our primary inspirations and motivations for engaging in the mission in this society.
Several theological differences still remain points of debate and disagreement between the Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church. Some of these questions have been addressed and resolved within the International Catholic-Orthodox Theological Commission, but the following substantive theological differences remain:
– Papal Authority: The Orthodox Church holds that papal authority in the first millennium did not extend juridically over the East, with the pope regarded as “primus inter pares” (first among equals) among patriarchs, evident in the papal title “Patriarch of the West”[3]. The Orthodox Church does not clearly distinguish between the visible and invisible Church[4] or the local and universal Church. Consequently, the Orthodox Church sees Christ as the sole head of the Church, not recognizing the pope as the Vicar of Christ or the head of the visible Church. The Orthodox Church also rejects the dogma of the papal infallibility, promulgated by the first Vatican Council in 1870.
– Filioque: The issue of “Filioque”[5] has both dogmatic and expressional dimensions. As an expression and an addition to the Creed, although popularized in Spain and by Charlemagne by late eight century, it was for the first time recited at the Papal Liturgy at Rome in the 1041. The Orthodox Church has rejected it as a problematic addition to the Creed which was produced by the Councils of the undivided Church at Nicea in AD 325 and at Constantinople in AD 318, and as an addition the text of the Holy Scripture (John 15:26) which the Creed quotes in its phrasing of the article on the Holy Spirit. As a dogma it has been addressed and partly resolved by the Orthodox-Catholic joint commission, by shifting the issue on the question of the God the Father being the only source of the Holy Trinity, thus preserving the monarchy of God the Father. Nevertheless, the question still remains current, since the word “Filioque” is still included in the Roman Catholic Creed;[6]
– Immaculate Conception: This doctrine, explicitly defined by Pope Pius IX in Apostolic Constitution “Ineffabilis Deus” in 1854, is another point of difference, claiming that the Mother of God in the moment of her conception was free of Original Sin, thus being always Immaculate. This doctrine of the Catholic Church is widely rejected by the Orthodox theologians on the grounds that this statement undermines the role of the Virgin Mary in God’s work of redemption and her free choice to answer positively to God’s calling and also on the grounds of the teaching of the Church that only Christ is born free of all sin.
– The teaching of the Assumption of the Mother of God is a dogma in the Catholic Church, but is mostly regarded as a theologoumena in the Orthodox Church. Theologoumena in the Orthodox Church being a teaching held by some faithful and the tradition of the Church, but is not formulated as a dogma.
Despite these theological differences, the Catholic and Orthodox Churches maintain warm fraternal relations and often refer to each other as sister Churches. Pope John Paul II famously spoke of the “two lungs” of Christianity, and Patriarch Bartholomew, the longest-serving Ecumenical Patriarch to date, has always emphasized the importance of Orthodox-Catholic relations, maintaining close relationships with Catholic clergy, laity, and theologians.
Across Europe, the Ecumenical Patriarchate uses numerous Catholic churches for worship with the kind permission of local Catholic authorities when there is no Orthodox parish structure.
Opportunities to enhance relations between the Orthodox and the Catholic Church on a national level exist, especially given the ongoing, vibrant dialogue on an international scale. I believe there is room for strengthening Orthodox-Catholic relations within the UK through shared initiatives and dialogue panels. This being said, the dialogue on a national level is heavily influenced if not subjected to the dialogue on the international level.
Orthodox-Catholic dialogue in the UK could be further strengthened by addressing specific canonical issues that are of interest to the faithful. One such topic is that of Mixed Marriages. Clarifying the canonical order of the Orthodox Church in this regard can help foster a deeper mutual understanding and make the dialogue more authentic and honest. For the Orthodox Church, the Sacrament of Marriage is traditionally reserved for individuals who belong to the Orthodox faith. However, due to the complexities of contemporary life, mixed marriages—marriages between an Orthodox Christian and a person from another religious tradition are becoming increasingly common. The Orthodox Church addresses these situations through its two guiding principles for canonical issues: akriveia (strictness) and oikonomia (economy or pastoral discretion).
In the spirit of oikonomia, the Church permits the Sacrament of Marriage between two properly baptized persons (baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) to take place, following the prescribed rite in the Orthodox service book.[7] However, if one of the parties belongs to a tradition that does not adhere to the traditional form of baptism, the sacrament cannot be performed. Again, in the spirit of oikonomia, this allowance for mixed marriages exists primarily for the sake of the Orthodox spouse. Such marriages require the explicit permission of the local bishop and must be performed exclusively by an Orthodox priest. A double ceremony, where the marriage is legalized in both churches, is discouraged by the Orthodox Church.[8] It is important to note that the principle of oikonomia, which applies to the Sacrament of Marriage, does not extend to participation in the Holy Eucharist by the non-Orthodox spouse. Additionally, both sponsors at the wedding must be Orthodox Christians.
To summarize, the Orthodox Church, drawing from its rich tradition, seeks to guide and nurture its faithful. By applying the principle of oikonomia in pastoral practice, the Church aims to strengthen the spiritual lives of its members while mitigating potential divisions and conflicts that may arise in interfaith marriages.
The Revd Presbyter Andreas Minic
[1] Benedetto XVI (Joseph Ratzinger), Vi ho chiamato amici. La compagnia nel cammino della fede, San Paolo edizioni, 2006.
[2] “Roman Catholic Church” is used here to denote the Roman Church and the 23 sui juris churches of different liturgical, theological, and canonical traditions in communion with her. We use this phrasing, with apologies to our friends in the Eastern Catholic Churches, as shorthand for “the churches in communion with Rome”.
[3] This title was removed from the official “Annuario Pontificio” on 22 March 2006, pope Francis has reinstated the title in 2024.
[4] The question remains how happy the Catholic Church is with this distinction. It criticises Luther’s handling of it, rejecting the “abscondita est ecclesia, latent sancti” principle in Luther’s defence of “hidden church” ecclesiology.
[5] The Filioque is an addition to the Creed. Specifically, it adds that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father “and the Son.”
[6] The RCC is still committed to the belief that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Son in the immanent Trinity, not only in the economy. Even when the εκπορεύεσθαι / προίεναι distinction is taken into account, the Roman addition of the Filioque produces a liturgical formulation which, in its plain meaning, isn’t true even according to current Roman Catholic interpretations of their own doctrine: “Qui ex Patre Filioque procedit” puts the Holy Spirit in the same grammatical relationship to the Son as to the Father, producing the impression (even if unintended by those who interpolated this phrase) that the Father and the Son are each a locus of procession, but the Holy Spirit is not.
[7] L.J. Patsawos, Introduction to Orthodox Canon Law, Brookline, MA, 2023, p. 140.
[8] Ibid, 141.