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Orthodoxy in the New Europe: Problems and Prospects WPF Historic Publication Orthodoxy in the new Europe: problems and prospects Hilarion Alfeyev December 31, 2004 Original copyright © 2004 by World Public Forum Dialogue of Civilizations Copyright © 2017 by Dialogue of Civilizations Research Institute The right of Hilarion Alfeyev to be identified as the author of this publication is hereby asserted. The views and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the original author(s) and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views and opinions of the Dialogue of Civilizations Research Institute, its co-founders, or its staff members. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, please write to the publisher: Dialogue of Civilizations Research Institute gGmbH Französische Straße 23 10117 Berlin Germany +49 30 209677900 [email protected] Orthodoxy in the new Europe: problems and prospects Hilarion Alfeyev Bishop of Vienna and Austria Originally published 2004 in World Public Forum Dialogue of Civilizations Bulletin 1(2.2), 93-102. 2 Illarion Alfeyev, Bishop of Vienna and Austria “Orthodoxy in the new Europe: problems and prospects” In the understanding of many people, Europe is associated primarily with Catholic and Protestant traditions. Lately, they have been joined also by Islam that is being closely watched by the mass media that are trying to foretell the consequences of growth in number of its followers in Europe. Little is thought and said about Orthodoxy and its role in the formation of the European identity. In fact, the term “Orthodoxy” is associated in the minds of many rather with Judaism than with Christianity. However, for many centuries, Orthodox Christianity has been an inalienable part of the European identity. This is confirmed by the number of Orthodox believers living in the Old World, as well as by the contribution that Orthodox Christianity has made to the development of the European culture and spirituality. Statistics In today’s world there are 15 autocephalous Local Orthodox Churches, the number of members of which, according to certain sources, is approximately 226,500,0001. 1 Here and furthermore, statistics have been taken from the book L’Ortodessia nella nuova Europa. Dinamiche storiche e prospettive. A cura di Andrea Pacini. Roma: Fondazione Giovanni Agnelli, 2003. WORLD PUBLIC FORUM BULLETIN 1(2.2), 2004 “DIALOGUE OF CIVILIZATIONS” 3 Illarion Alfeyev, Bishop of Vienna and Austria “Orthodoxy in the new Europe: problems and prospects” Constantinople Patriarchate 7,000,000 Turkey, Thrace, Aegean Islands, part of diaspora Alexandria Patriarchate 350,000 Egypt and all Africa Antioch Patriarchate 1,500,000 Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, part of diaspora Jerusalem Patriarchate 156,000 Palestine, Israel, Jordan Russian Orthodox Church 160,000,000 Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Baltic (Moscow Patriarchate) States, Middle Asian countries, part of diaspora Serbian Orthodox Church 8,000,000 Serbia and Montenegro, Slovenia, Croatia Rumanian Orthodox Church 20,000,000 Rumania, part of diaspora Bulgarian Orthodox Church 8,000,000 Bulgaria Georgian Orthodox Church 3,000,000 Georgia Cypriot Orthodox Church 500,000 Cyprus Greek Orthodox Church 10,000,000 Greece Polish Orthodox Church 1,000,000 Poland Albanian Orthodox Church 700,000 Albania Czech Orthodox Church 74,000 Czech Republic and Slovakia Orthodox Church in America 1,000,000 USA Out of the enumerated Churches, three (Alexandria, Jerusalem and America) are not situated in Europe. However, they account for only 6% of the overall number of Orthodox followers. The remaining 94% - 209,000,000 – live in Europe. The majority of the Orthodox believers live in 11 European countries: Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Rumania, Bulgaria, Serbia and Montenegro, Greece, Cyprus, Macedonia and Georgia. In many other European countries, in particular, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Albania, Orthodox believers constitute a significant minority. WORLD PUBLIC FORUM BULLETIN 1(2.2), 2004 “DIALOGUE OF CIVILIZATIONS” 4 Illarion Alfeyev, Bishop of Vienna and Austria “Orthodoxy in the new Europe: problems and prospects” The greatest number of Orthodox believers lives in the territory of Eastern Europe. Two West European countries – Greece and Cyprus – are Orthodox. Incidentally, no less than 2 million Orthodox believers live in the West European countries that do not belong to the Orthodox tradition. The numbers of Orthodox believers in the largest West European countries are the following: Germany 800,000 United Kingdom 350,000 France 250,000 Austria 150,000 Sweden 100,000 Switzerland 80,000 Spain 20,000 Belgium 40,000 Italy 250,000 Netherlands 10,000 Structure of the Orthodox Church In the West, there is a widespread opinion that the structure of the Orthodox Church is a kind of eastern analogue of the Catholic Church. Correspondingly, the Patriarch of Constantinople is regarded as an analogue of the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, or “the eastern pope.” As a matter of fact, the Orthodox Church never did have a single head: it always consisted of autocephalous Local Churches in liturgical and canonical relationship with one another, however, administratively they are independent of one another. The Constantinople Patriarchate is traditionally given first honor among the 15 autocephalous Local Churches. In practice, this WORLD PUBLIC FORUM BULLETIN 1(2.2), 2004 “DIALOGUE OF CIVILIZATIONS” 5 Illarion Alfeyev, Bishop of Vienna and Austria “Orthodoxy in the new Europe: problems and prospects” means that when the heads of the Local Churches conduct joint Liturgy, the Constantinople Patriarch occupies the leading place. Up to 1054, the Bishop of Rome held the right of first honor in the Ecumenical Church, whereas the Bishop of “the Second Rome” (Constantinople) occupied second place in the diptych. After the Churches separated, the honor of occupying first place in the Orthodox world went to the Patriarch of Constantinople who since the Byzantine times was also given the honorary title “Ecumenical.” However, the given title means no administrative implications. The fact that certain western mass media hold that the Patriarch of Constantinople has acquired the title of “spiritual leader of the 300- million Orthodox population of the planet” is also unfounded. Unlike the Catholic population, the Orthodox population of the planet does not have a single spiritual leader: for the members of each Local Church, the spiritual leader is the head of the Church. For example, for the 160 million followers of the Russian Orthodox Church (based on the statistics of A. Pacini), the spiritual leader is His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia. The absence of a single administrative center in the Orthodox Church is due to both historical and theological reasons. Historically, no single head of the Local Churches, either in the Byzantine or post-Byzantine times, wielded such rights as the Roman Catholic Pope had in the West. Theologically, the absence of a single leader is explained by the conciliarism principle that works on all levels of the Orthodox Church. In particular, this principle implies that each senior priest or hierarch supervises his eparchy not independently, but with the consent of the clergy and the laymen. In accordance with his same principle, the head of a Local Church, who, as a rule, is also the chairman of the Synod of Higher Priests governs the Church not by himself but in collaboration with the Synod. Incidentally, the absence of a single administrative center in the Orthodox Church also has its negative aspects. First, there is no possibility to appeal to a higher instance when there is a conflict between two Local Churches. Such an instance could probably be the Constantinople Patriarchate if other Local Churches WORLD PUBLIC FORUM BULLETIN 1(2.2), 2004 “DIALOGUE OF CIVILIZATIONS” 6 Illarion Alfeyev, Bishop of Vienna and Austria “Orthodoxy in the new Europe: problems and prospects” agreed to entrust it such functions. However, the greatest number of intra-Orthodox conflicts is connected at the present moment precisely with the Constantinople Patriarchate, which therefore cannot play the role of the supreme judge. Recently there has been a dispute between Constantinople and the Greek Orthodox Church on the question of the Greek “northern territories” which since 1928 have been under dual subordination: the given dispute resulted in the decision of the Constantinople Patriarchate to terminate eucharistic communion with the Archbishop of Athens and All Greece Christodul. There is a growing confrontation between Constantinople and Jerusalem because the Jerusalem Patriarchate opened dioceses in the diaspora. There is still an unsettled dispute between Constantinople and Moscow that began when Constantinople established an autonomous church in Estonia, thereby leading to a four-month termination of eucharistic communion between the two Churches in 1977. There are also local conflicts between representatives of Constantinople and other Orthodox jurisdictions. For example, the eparchy of the Constantinople Patriarchate in Hungary, in spite of church canons, filed a lawsuit in a secular court in order to take over the Cathedral of the Assumption
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