LEGOIDA: RPTs PRESERVES THE CHRISTIAN FOUNDATIONS OF WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES
Participation by the Russian Orthodox Church (RPTs) in the World Council of Churches (WCC) permits "the maintenance of the Christian foundation of the activity" of this ecumenical organization, declared the head of the synod's Department for Relations of Church with Society and News Media, Vladimir Legoida, responding to a question about the possibility of the withdrawal of the RPTs from membership in the WCC.
The World Council of Churches was created by means of the merger of several protestant movements in 1948, and at the present time it unites more than 330 churches, confessions, and communities of more than 100 countries of the world. The membership of the WCC includes, in the main, different protestant confessions (Anglicans, Lutherans, Calvinists, Methodists, Baptists, and others) and also a number of local Orthodox churches, including the Russian Orthodox Church, and various associated and independent churches. The Roman Catholic Church is not a member of the WCC, although it cooperates with the council.
"The very fact of participation in the international organization meant a great deal for the church during that period (the time of the creation of the WCC—ed.). But today the ecumenical movement is not at all like it was at the time of its founding. Changes that have occurred in a number of protestant denominations are rather serious," Legoida declared in an interview with the newspaper Izvestiia, published on Monday, responding to a question about the benefits of participation by the RPTs in the WCC in contemporary circumstances.
At the time of the formation of the ecumenical movement a principle was adopted: not to introduce any innovations that would divide churches from one another. However, subsequently among a number of protestant denominations there appeared a female priesthood, same-sex marriages were recognized, and a number of other decisions were made, which go contrary to generally recognized Christian principles. Legoida noted that the Russian church "has never concealed its position" and Patriarch Kirill "publicly and personally said uncomplimentary things to the general secretary of the World Council of Churches," including "that it seriously concerns us."
"Why is a church that deviates from fundamental evangelical principles needed? It is all a trade with the government which is moving in that direction, with the goal of preserving preferences in exchange for loyalty. Patriarch Kirill has frequently stressed that he thinks such a compromise to be impermissible and self-destructive for the church," the head of the synodal department said.
Legoida acknowledged that it is not difficult to leave the organization demonstratively, while at the same time he expressed the opinion that the very fact of the presence of the Russian Orthodox Church in the WCC "brings another tone into these relationships and permits the preservation of a Christian foundation for the activity of the organization." (tr. by PDS, posted 10 July 2018)
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