Book Chaillot History Orthodox Church Western Europe 27 Jan 2021
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Book Chaillot History Orthodox Church Western Europe 27 Jan 2021 This book gives an introduction to the history of the Orthodox Church and its different jurisdictions in the 20th century in Western Europe, country by country. The main aim of these articles is to allow people to discover, or to make better known, the genesis and history of these Orthodox communities in Western Europe and also to understand the present situation of the Orthodox Church in a Western Europe now united and without borders. We hope that this book may be profitable not only at the level of Christian ecumenical and inter-religious dialogues, but specially for the Orthodox themselves, who often ignore these histories so close to us in time and space. Articles collected under the editorship of Christine Chaillot Prefaces by Metropolitan Emmanuel of France, Bishop Luka of France and Western Europe, Metropolitan Seraphim of Germany, Central and Northern Europe, Bishop Basil of Sergievo and Protopresbyter Boris Bobrinskoy A SHORT HISTORY OF THE ORTHODOX CHURCH IN WESTERN EUROPE IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY Articles collected under the editorship of Christine Chaillot Prefaces by Metropolitan Emmanuel of France, Bishop Luka of France and Western Europe, Metropolitan Seraphim of Germany, Central and Northern Europe, Bishop Basil of Sergievo and Protopresbyter Boris Bobrinskoy (d. 2020) Inter-Orthodox Dialogue, Paris, 2006 This book was first printed by Orthdruk, Bialystok, Poland, in 2006. Copyright 2006 Inter-Orthodox Dialogue/Christine Chaillot Here is the original text, without corrections. The reader must take into consideration that some facts and statistics are those of 2006. Some of the authors and quoted people passed away. Some quoted addresses and websites shoud be checked. Contact : [email protected] Christine Chaillot, the editor of this book A Short History of the Orthodox Church in Western Europe in the 20th Century, has written and edited the following books : The Malankara Orthodox Church, Geneva, 1996 Towards Unity, The Theological Dialogue Between the Orthodox Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches, Geneva, 1998 (compilation of texts of the theological dialogue since 1964 with supplementary articles), Geneva, (1998) The Syrian Orthodox Church of Antioch, Geneva, 1998 The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church Tradition, Paris, (2002) The Coptic Orthodox Church, Paris, (2005) A Short History of the Orthodox Church in Western Europe in the Twentieth Century, Paris, 2006 The Orthodox Church in Eastern Europe in the Twentieth Century, Vie et spiritualité des Églises orthodoxes orientales des traditions syriaque, arménienne, copte et éthiopienne, Paris, Les Éditions du Cerf, 2010 Les Coptes d’Égypte. Discriminations et persécutions (1970-2011), Paris, L’Harmattan, 2014 The Dialogue Between the Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Churches, Volos Academy Publications, Volos, 2016 The Role of Images and the Veneration of Icons in the Oriental Orthodox Churches, LIT Verlag, Münster, 2017 The Assyrian Church of the East. History and Geography, Oxford, Peter Lang, 2021 Her books are translated into eleven languages Preface by His Eminence, Metropolitan Emmanuel of France In Europe, the historical Orthodox Churches are generally found in the countries of its eastern territories. Let us recall that Christianity spread in the north-eastern parts of our continent from the Roman Empire of the East (also known as the Byzantine Empire) the capital of which was Constantinople, where the Ecumenical Patriarchate was established in the 4th century. The Ecumenical Patriarchate, following Apostle Paul’s example, continued the spreading of the Word of God to the world, especially since the Church of Constantinople possessed all the favourable conditions for this task because of the transfer of the capital from Ancient Rome to Constantinople, the New Rome. In the past, the Orthodox Church consisted of only four Ancient Patriarchates of the East, namely of Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem. To those were later added the Churches of Russia, of Serbia, of Romania, of Bulgaria, and that of the Church of Georgia, to which the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople granted the status of Patriarchates. There are however also the so-called Autocephalous Churches, namely the Church of Cyprus, which is the most ancient autocephalous Church, the Church of Greece, the Church of Poland, the Church of Albania, and the Church of the Czech Land and of Slovakia. Finally there are also some autonomous Churches such as those of Sinai and Finland. The Church of Constantinople, being the First Throne among the autocephalous Orthodox Churches, has the right and responsibility of the commencement and the coordination of actions of inter-Orthodox importance, according to historical and canonical reasons. Nowadays, we witness the growth of what has come to be known as the European Union. Since the decisions concerning the future of Europe were taken, and then implemented by the Treaty of Maastricht in 1992, Europe is widening and establishing a space of free circulation and of all kinds of exchanges. In the framework of this new Europe which is being established, Orthodox Christians have taken a place that is not insignificant at all. Since the change in the political scene of Eastern Europe in the 1990s, a wave of Orthodox immigration is coming to the multicultural Western Europe, and people looking for a better future and job opportunities are becoming part of the new mosaic of ethnicities, cultures, traditions and beliefs, enriching more this so diverse population of Europe. However, the commercial exchanges which are nowadays being organized between the Western and Eastern countries of our continent have in fact existed during past centuries. This partly explains the existence and organization of the first Orthodox parishes in certain countries of the West at a very early stage. We see for example that in Stockholm, Sweden, there are Orthodox parishes at the beginning of the 17th century, as well as in Leipzig, Germany and in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, in the 18th century. Furthermore, in the 20th century, as well as earlier on, the construction of Orthodox chapels or churches came about in Western Europe because of royal marriages with Orthodox members of royal families. Nevertheless, Orthodox parishes have been established in greater number in Western Europe from the 19th century and much more so in the 20th century. In order to obtain the best harmony possible between the Christian communities, and also between the communities of the different religions that are numerous in Europe, it is instructive to study the recent history of all these communities, including that of our Christian Orthodox. That will partly enable us to better understand their beginnings, and how to organize their future life in Europe at large. It is in the light of this endeavour that we would like to congratulate Madame Christine Chaillot, an Orthodox Christian of the Patriarchate of Constantinople who gathered all these articles through hard work done for the promotion of the ecumenical spirit. Through her important publication, the history of the Orthodox Church in the 20th century in Western Europe will become accessible and better known, country by country, to all those who may have an interest, including Orthodox Christians living in Western Europe. His Eminence, Metropolitan Emmanuel of France (Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople) Director of the Liaison Office of the Orthodox Church to the European Union in Brussels Responsible for the Dialogue between the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and Judaism Responsible for the Dialogue between the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and Islam Responsible for the Dialogue between the Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox or pre-Chalcedonian Churches Preface by Metropolitan Seraphim (Joanta) The articles gathered in this book by Christine Chaillot help us to understand that the Orthodox Church in the West has become an undeniable reality. Through its local rootedness and by its active presence at the theological and ecumenical levels, the Orthodox Church has definitely established itself in the important cities of Western Europe. The Westerners who show an interest in Orthodoxy see in it an authentic testimony of the undivided Church and of the theology and spirituality of the Church fathers of the first millenium. In Western Europe, the Orthodox Theological Institute of Saint Sergius in Paris has taken part in the renewal of Orthodox theology in the 20th century and Orthodox monasteries have a growing influence. As I can observe while meeting non Orthodox people in Western Europe, texts such as the Philokalia of the neptic fathers (translated into some languages of Western Europe), or The Way of A Pilgrim, as well as the Jesus Prayer or ‘Prayer of the Heart’ are now known in the Western monastic milieux and beyond. The Orthodox icons, whose meaning remains to be studied in depth by certain non Orthodox, are present in many Western churches. As to the implantation of a local Orthodoxy, nowadays Orthodox hierarchs in Western Europe work for its organization and its unification according to the traditional principles of the Church, at the territorial and collegial levels. Of course, this implantation cannot be accelerated artificially and must be carried out gradually while the Orthodox communities acquire a real ecclesial conscience. The difficulties which emerge concern specially the liturgical language and the