Perspectief 2015-29

2015-29 An Eastern Orthodox Reaction 31 Reag eer especially St. Gregory the Nazianzus, St. Maximus the Confessor, St. John of Damascus, and St. Symeon the New Theologian. 7. The many references to the Symbol of Faith, the Creed, and the ad hoc reference to the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed, the basis of the ancient common Christian faith, grounded in Scripture and professed in the liturgies of most churches, which “has to be confessed afresh in relation to the challenges of the contemporary world” (§ 39, cf. § 9, 22, and passim). 8. The emphasis put on the Eucharist, and the taken in account of many elements of Eucharistic ecclesiology, the ecclesiology of communion and the local church, which leads to a balance view of the relationship between the local and the universal Church, the unity and the catholicity of the Church. 9. The express reference to the canon 34 of the Apostolic Canons, which, as the document under discussion reminds us, “is expressive of the Church’s self- understanding in the early centuries and is still held in honor by many, though not all, Christians today,” for the discussion of issues related to primacy and collegiality, and to the model of interconnection, and interdependence between the primus and the collegium of the bishops (§ 55). Of course, as the convergence text in several points indicates it, there is still a whole range of issues in which agreement was not reached, and traditional dividing lines were not overcome. It is therefore understandable that to many points our text confines itself to the common denominator, and to that theological and ecclesiological wordings which could be accepted by all involved parties. Sometimes thus we got the impression that because of these well known differences, or even because of these beforehand known differences, the text lacks boldness as it does not dare to go deeper and further in theological analysis. One issue of crucial importance in ecumenical dialogue is that of the ecclesiological status of the churches, i.e. the mutual recognition of the other Christian churches as churches. As our text states in § 9: “Visible unity requires that churches be able to recognize in one another the authentic presence of what the Creed of Nicaea-Constantinople (381) calls the “one, holy, catholic, apostolic Church.” This recognition, in turn,” continues the same paragraph, “may in some instances depend upon changes in doctrine, practice and ministry within any given community. This represents a significant challenge for churches