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You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery;'                but I tell you that everyone who gazes at a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart.                If your right eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it away from you. For it is more profitable for you that one of your members should perish, than for your whole body to be cast into Gehenna.                If your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off, and throw it away from you. For it is more profitable for you that one of your members should perish, than for your whole body to be cast into Gehenna.                'It was also said, 'Whoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorce,'                but I tell you that whoever puts away his wife, except for the cause of sexual immorality, makes her an adulteress; and whoever marries her when she is put away commits adultery.                'Again you have heard that it was said to them of old time, 'You shall not make false vows, but shall perform to the Lord your vows,'                but I tell you, don't swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is the throne of God;                nor by the earth, for it is the footstool of his feet; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.                Neither shall you swear by your head, for you can't make one hair white or black.                But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes' and your 'No' be 'No.' Whatever is more than these is of the evil one.                'You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.'*                But I tell you, don't resist him who is evil; but whoever strikes you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also.                If anyone sues you to take away your coat, let him have your cloak also.                Whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two.                Give to him who asks you, and don't turn away him who desires to borrow from you.                'You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor,* and hate your enemy.*'                But I tell you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you,                that you may be children of your Father who is in heaven.               
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Membership in Ecumenical Groups (Teachings of the Orthodox Church)
   

QUESTION:

Would you respond to my question why the OCA and SCOBA continues to participate in the WCC and the NCC? I have enclosed a copy of a post from the Orthodox Christianity list at Indiana University which express well many of our concerns.

ANSWER:

While the appropriate person to answer your question would be Father Leonid Kishkovsky, who is the OCA’s ecumenical officer [he is away for a few weeks], I will offer an initial reply.

The OCA, together with the other Orthodox jurisdictions in North America, have consulted on numerous occasions with regard to membership in these two organizations. It is clear that, in virtually every forum in which such matters are discussed, there is a definitive tension between those who see membership in interfaith bodies as a means to bear witness to the truth and those who see membership in interfaith bodies as a capitulation of Orthodox Christianity. There are valid observations to be made on both sides.

While I am not the expert on this subject, it would seem that, as Father John Meyendorff pointed out, there is "good" and “bad” ecumenism. Good ecumenism, one which is focused on proclaiming the truth in whatever public forums are open, is to be encouraged, according to Father Meyendorff. Bad ecumenism, one which focuses on acceptance by others or in any way implies a "watering down" of the Gospel, is to be avoided at all costs, he writes. The critical thing, it would seem, is to approach the topic from the perspective of intention ­ or at least this is what Father Meyendorff would imply in his writings.

These issues are of deep concern for the OCA, even though there are those who would accuse her of the opposite. In fact, in the October/November issue of The Orthodox Church newspaper there is an article by Protopresbyter Robert Kondratick on precisely the issue of "good" and "wrong" ecumenism which underscores the tension which the topic reveals in its very essence. Fr Kondratick’s article relies heavily on the distinctions made by Fr Meyendorff on this matter.






Published in January 2011.









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