These projects, however, were hampered by the tragedies that befell the Russian Orthodox Church following the Russian Revolution. The administrative system of the Russian church collapsed. The non-Russian groups of immigrants sought and obtained their affiliation with mother churches abroad. In 1921 a “Greek Archdiocese of North and South America” was established by the ecumenical patriarch Meletios IV Metaxakis. Further divisions within each national group occurred repeatedly, and several independent jurisdictions added to the confusion.
American Orthodoxy challenged the feasibility of preserving the ethnic identity of the national churches, which had characterized Orthodoxy in Europe and the Middle East. A reaction against this chaotic pluralism manifested itself in the 1950s. More cooperation between the jurisdictions and a more systematic theological education contributed to an increased desire for unity. A Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas (SCOBA) was established in 1960 in order to provide administrative unity amid jurisdictional confusion. In 1970 the patriarch of Moscow, reviving Tikhon’s project of 1905, formally proclaimed its diocese in America (which had been in conflict with Moscow since 1931 on the issue of loyalty to the Soviet Union) as the autocephalous Orthodox Church in America (OCA), which had no administrative connections abroad. However, the ecumenical patriarchate of Constantinople protested this move, turned down a request for autonomy presented by the Greek archdiocese (the largest single Orthodox body in the United States), and reiterated its opposition to the use of English in the liturgy. Meanwhile, the American archdiocese of the Antiochian Orthodox Church was granted self-rule (though not full autocephaly) in 2003 and later incorporated into itself the Evangelical Orthodox Church, a group of former Evangelicals who embraced Orthodoxy. Led by Peter Gillquist, it operates as the Antiochian Evangelical Orthodox Mission (AEOM) and promotes the unity of Orthodox Christians in America. The Orthodox diaspora and missions
Since World War I millions of eastern Europeans were dispersed in various areas where Orthodox communities had never existed before. The Russian Revolution provoked a massive political emigration, predominantly to western Europe and particularly France. It included eminent churchmen, theologians, and Christian intellectuals, such as Bulgakov, Berdyayev, and V.V. Zenkovsky, who were able not only to establish in Paris a theological school of great repute but also to contribute significantly to the ecumenical movement. In 1922 Patriarch Tikhon appointed Metropolitan Evlogy as head of the émigré churches, with residence in Paris. The authority of the metropolitan was challenged, however, by a group of bishops who had left their sees in Russia, retreating with the White armies, and who had found refuge in Sremski-Karlovci as guests of the Serbian church. Despite several attempts at reconciliation, the “Synod” of Karlovci, proclaiming its firm attachment to the principle of tsarist monarchy, refused to recognize any measure taken by the reestablished patriarchate of Moscow. This group transferred its headquarters to New York and became known as the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR). It had no canonical relation with the official Orthodox patriarchates and churches until May 2007. That year, following reforms within both Russia and the Russian Orthodox Church in the wake of the fall of the Soviet Union, the ROCOR signed an agreement of unity with the patriarchate of Moscow. The “Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Exile,” by contrast, continues to be in an irregular canonical situation. Other émigré groups found refuge under the canonical auspices of the ecumenical patriarchate.
After World War II many Greeks emigrated to western Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and Africa. In East Africa, without much initial effort on their part, these Greek-speaking emigrants attracted a sizable number of black Christians, who discovered in the Orthodox liturgy and sacramental worship a form of Christianity more acceptable to them than the more dogmatic institutions of Western Christianity. Also, in their eyes, Orthodoxy had the advantage of having no connection with the colonial regimes of the past. Orthodox communities, with an ever increasing number of native clergy, are spreading in Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania. Less professionally planned than the former Russian missions in Alaska and Japan, these young churches constitute an interesting development in African Christianity. Ecumenical involvement
Between the two World Wars, many Orthodox churchmen of the ecumenical patriarchate of Constantinople, of Greece, of the Balkan churches, and of the Russian emigration took part in the ecumenical movement. After World War II, however, the churches of the communist-dominated countries failed to join the newly created World Council of Churches (1948); only Constantinople and Greece did so. The situation changed drastically in 1961, when the patriarchate of Moscow applied for membership and was soon followed by other autocephalous churches. Before and after 1961 the Orthodox churches repeatedly declared that their membership did not imply any relativistic understanding of the Christian truth but demonstrated that they were ready to discuss with all Christians the best way of restoring the lost unity of Christendom, as well as problems of common Christian action and witness in the modern world.
The ecumenical patriarchate, despite the hesitation of some faithful, has devoted special attention to dialogue with the Roman Catholic Church. In the 1960s Patriarch Athenagoras I and Pope Paul VI met in Jerusalem, Istanbul, and Rome, symbolically lifting the anathemas imposed in 1054 and making other gestures of rapprochement, though these moves were sometimes mistakenly interpreted as if they were ending the schism itself; the Orthodox view holds that full unity can be restored only in the fullness of truth witnessed by the entire church and sanctioned in sacramental communion. Despite stringent criticism by conservative Orthodox Christians, Athenagoras and his successors not only improved relations with Rome but also engaged in dialogues with Anglicans, the Oriental Orthodox churches, and even non-Christians, including Muslims and Jews.
As ecumenical patriarch, Bartholomew I (enthroned 1991) addressed concerns outside the purview of the Eastern Orthodox Church. He endorsed Turkey’s application for membership in the European Union and displayed such a dedication to global environmental issues that he became known as the “green patriarch.”
Bartholomew IBartholomew I, patriarch of the Eastern Orthodox Church, attending a service in honour of Saints Cyril and Methodius in Mikulčice, Czech Republic, on May 25, 2013.© Wrangel/Dreamstime.com
Doctrine
Councils and confessions
All Orthodox creedal formulas, liturgical texts, and doctrinal statements affirm the claim that the Eastern Orthodox Church has preserved the original apostolic faith, which was also expressed in the common Christian tradition of the first centuries. The Orthodox church recognizes seven ecumenical councils—Nicaea I (325), Constantinople I (381), Ephesus (431), Chalcedon (451), Constantinople II (553), Constantinople III (680–681), and Nicaea II (787)—but considers that the decrees of several other, later councils also reflect the same original faith (e.g., the councils of Constantinople that endorsed the theology of St. Gregory Palamas in the 14th century). Finally, it recognizes itself as the bearer of an uninterrupted living tradition of true Christianity that is expressed in its worship, in the lives of the saints, and in the faith of the whole people of God.
In the 17th century, as a counterpart to the various “confessions” of the Reformation, there appeared several “Orthodox confessions,” endorsed by local councils but in fact associated with individual authors (e.g., Metrophanes Critopoulos, 1625; Petro Mohyla, 1638; Dosítheos of Jerusalem, 1672). None of these confessions would be recognized today as having anything but historical importance. Orthodox theologians, rather than seeking literal conformity with any particular confession, will look for consistency with Scripture and tradition, as it has been expressed in the ancient councils, in the works of the Church Fathers (the early theological authorities of the church), and in the uninterrupted life of the liturgy. Most theologians will not shy away from new formulations if consistency and continuity of tradition are preserved.