3. Attempts of the Episcopal Church to Draw Near the Orthodox East. The Memorandum of the “Association of the Eastern Church” and the Attitude of the General Conventions of 1868–1874 Toward the Question of Church Unity. The “Greek-Russian Committee” and its Activities. The External and Internal Aspects of These Attempts. The Attitude of Roman Catholic Literature Toward Them and Alarm in the Roman Catholic Camp. The Possible Significance of the Fact of Church Unity for the Mission of Orthodoxy in America. Foundations for Unity. Conclusion
The striving of Episcopalism toward unity with the Orthodox East manifested itself with special force precisely in that period when consciousness of the American people became sharply aware of a tendency toward religious and political unity, when the idea of one strong church began to demand actual realization, and when at the same time most clearly was revealed the inadequacy of the existing churches and sects to embody this idea. In that very year when there resounded the bold speeches of Dr. Ewer about the bankruptcy of Protestantism and the necessity to seek salvation in Catholicity, in the autumn of that same year there assembled the usual triennial general convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church of America. The venerable gathering of prelates and laypeople of the Episcopal Church had already been disposed by the demands of the time toward the East, and therefore the question of its attitude toward the Orthodox East had been set for it by the very spirit of the times; but the acceleration of its resolution was further aided by the fact that members of the Anglican Church, in which the need for unity with the East was also felt, in order to give their striving a more real foundation, resolved to urge American Episcopal Church to take the initiative in actual relations on this matter, as more independent in its activities. At the general convention of 1868, the English society—the “Association of the Eastern Church”—submitted a long memorandum on this subject. “Seeing,” it is said in the memorandum, “that to the great Head of the Church in the course of recent years it pleased to implant in the hearts of people in various parts of Christendom, belonging to various religious communities long in disagreement, a deep conviction that this division is contrary to the will of Him who is the Lord of the world and the Friend of unity, and that it has arisen in many cases not so much from essential difference in the foundations of faith as from mutual ignorance and misunderstanding, and most of all from the lack of mutual love, and recognizing that such division among Christians at the present time serves as one of the chief causes of the spread of unbelief and irreligion and the chief obstacle to the salvation of souls; and thinking also that on all who sorrow over the division of Christendom there lies a solemn duty to try, insofar as depends on them, to reunite them and restore the unity of spirit in the bond of peace, your memorialists respectfully wish to draw the attention of the venerable assembly to: 1) what has already been done through the aid of God for the attainment of this holy goal, and 2) the foundations which appear to indicate that the Church of America is especially adapted by Divine Providence to take the initiative at a critical moment in undertaking the most desirable measures for the restoration of communion between the Anglican community and the great Orthodox churches of Russia, Constantinople, and Greece.”[1] Restoration of communion is presented as desirable with all Christian denominations, but the attention of the Episcopal assembly is directed first of all to the East, and this for the following reason. “Meanwhile,” continue the memorialists, “while the disagreements between us and the Church of Rome are so great that there is no hope that efforts at reunion with it would be anything more than useless, no such insurmountable obstacle exists as regards union with the East, and therefore with the aid of God it would be possible to restore church unity in this direction. In any case this endeavor is worthy of an attempt. Obviously the first step in this unknown field of work should consist in smoothing the ground for future investigations, removing obstacles placed in the way by various prejudices, misunderstandings, and ignorance, in becoming acquainted with the feelings of our Eastern brothers toward us, and in making clear to them our desires.”[2] With precisely such a goal the said society was formed, and it has already labored considerably in this respect, but it at the same time, based on the indication of experience, came to the conviction that the American Episcopal Church is the most suited for accomplishing the great work of restoring church unity. The memorialists “respectfully declare that the American Church is more capable of undertaking the initiative in this delicate matter than the Church of England. Freed from state control, independent in its ecclesiastical and civil organization, it appears to be predestined by Providence itself to pave the way not only for union of states but also of churches in a sacred federal union. Continuous friendly relations between Russia and the United States and close commercial relations between the two countries give confidence that these proposals from the American Church concerning reunion would be received favorably by the Russian government both ecclesiastical and civil, and this at the same time would undoubtedly be also pleasing to the majority of members of the American Church, who in their diocesan conventions have already expressed a lively interest in the matter. Another important motive for beginning action lies in the factual proximity of the two churches in the area of the Pacific coast, recently ceded by Russia to the American government. This territory contains many Orthodox inhabitants and there has long existed a Russian mission on the Aleutian Islands. Is it not pressing upon the American Church to be concerned about these sheep without a shepherd, without violating the rights of their recognized spiritual authorities?”[3]
The venerable gathering of representatives of the Episcopal Church, as we have said above, had already been prepared by the very demands of the time for the question which was urged upon it with such insistence by the memorandum of the “Association of the Eastern Church,” and therefore naturally it could not be left without some resolution. But its resolution could not take place under the given state of affairs. Despite all the urgency of the need for its resolution, this question was at the same time extremely difficult. History had not developed any preparatory premises for it except consciousness of the necessity for its resolution. It was necessary first to investigate the logical and historical data upon which the question itself rests, in order to be able to proceed to the actual realization of the striving for unity with the Orthodox East. Without such investigation it could only be pious wishes, without any guarantee of achieving practical results. But for such work there was necessary a special organ which would specially devote itself to working out the preparatory data as necessary material for resolving the main question. No such organ existed in the Episcopal Church, and therefore it had to be created. The idea of such an organ first of all was the result of the memorandum of the said association. When the memorandum was submitted for discussion to the convention, it met with energetic approval. A resolution on the question of church unity was submitted to the assembly and it was accepted by both houses of the convention in the following form:
· Whereas the restoration of the unity of the Church is a matter of great importance, for without the restoration of unity for it it is impossible to perfectly fulfill its mission in the world, and
· Whereas in the opinion of many the signs of the times clearly indicate a strong and continuous growth of desire among the churches to see the restoration of such unity, therefore
· Be it Resolved: in agreement with the House of Bishops, that a joint committee of the two houses comprising the general convention, composed of an equal number of bishops, presbyters, and laypeople, should be appointed as an organ of relations with other branches of the Church and with various Christian communities who desire information or communication on this subject. Said committee should be called: the Committee of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America for the Unity of the Churches.[4]
Having taken the first substantial and necessary step toward resolving the question—namely establishing a special organ for this—the general convention at the same time attempted to outline the first point in developing the subject itself. It took into account the indication of the memorandum of the “Association of the Eastern Church” on the proximity of the Orthodox Church to the Episcopal Church, factually touching one another on the American continent, and therefore adopted the following resolution:
· Whereas mutual friendship happily exists and constantly grows between the Russian and American peoples, and cordial approaching of the whole Anglican community and the Orthodox Eastern Church to better mutual understanding and recognition as equal integral branches of the Catholic Church of Christ requires careful attention on both sides to avoid misunderstandings so far as possible, and in view of the request of the lower house in England to the upper: to take measures for opening relations with Eastern patriarchs and metropolitans with the goal of establishing such a relationship between the two communities as to make it possible for the laypeople and clergy of both to partake of the sacraments and services of each other without breaking the link with their own Church, therefore
· Be it Resolved: in the House of Bishops and Laypeople assembled in the general convention, to petition the House of Bishops to take those measures which in its wisdom it may find to be best, not only for promoting more intimate relations and better mutual acquaintance between our and the Eastern communities, but especially for ensuring the spiritual needs of our people who shall settle in the territory of Alaska, with due respect for the rights and dignity of the Russian Church.[5]
The practical results of the resolutions and measures adopted by the convention were to appear at the next regular convention. In the intermediate three-year period the newly formed organ on the question of church unity began energetic relations with the churches of the East. The special committee on church unity, which received the name “Greco-Russian Committee,” not only conducted written relations but also sent a delegation to the East for closer acquaintance with the state of the Orthodox East and the attitude of the Orthodox Church toward Episcopalism. The committee had great consolation in the fact that the East on its part answered with lively sympathy to the seeking from this direction for ecclesiastical truth: patriarchs and metropolitans of the Eastern churches ardently expressed their desire to see church unity restored and on their part offered various means, measures, and conditions for this. When in 1871 the new regular general convention assembled, the Greco-Russian Committee already possessed a store of material which shed some light on the attitude of the Orthodox East to the Episcopal Church seeking unity with it. The data collected by the committee produced an encouraging impression on the convention, and the House of Bishops submitted the following resolution:
· Be it Resolved: in agreement with the House of Bishops and Laypeople, that in view of the cordial responses of brotherly respect so frequently received over the past three years from the Patriarch of Constantinople, the Patriarch of Jerusalem, the Metropolitan of Athens, and the Most Holy Governing Synod of the Orthodox Russian Church by the prelates of the Church of England and representatives of this (American) Church, both spiritual and lay, it gratefully receives the friendly action whereby the authorities of the Holy Orthodox Church have deigned to permit the holy rite of burial for the deceased of our community, and that it seriously desires the continuation and growth of such brotherly relation and mutual good fulfillment of love;
· Be it Resolved, that the committee should continue its existence for relations with the Holy Orthodox Church of the East, and
· Be it Resolved, that on the said committee is also laid the duty to take further measures for the acquisition and communication of such information as may be mutually important and interesting for this Church and the Holy Orthodox Church of the East, and to publish it when this shall be found to be necessary and prudent.[6]
Relations actively continued during the course of the following three years. Messages from representatives of the Orthodox East even more eagerly declared sympathy with the holy striving of the Episcopal Church, and the Greco-Russian Committee considered the work of preparatory labor on the question of church unity to be so far advanced that its further continuation exceeded its original authority and it wished to hand it over to a more competent organ—the bishops. At the general convention of 1874 the Greco-Russian Committee submitted such a resolution:
· Be it Resolved, that the general convention had great satisfaction in learning of the love and brotherly tone of the messages received from Anthimus, Patriarch of Constantinople, Sophronius of Alexandria, Hierotheus of Antioch, Theophilus, Metropolitan of Athens, and Chairman of the Holy Synod of Greece, in response to the communication of the actions of the general convention sent through the joint committee;
· Be it Resolved, that we believe that the establishment of full and free communion and mutual relations of Christian brotherhood between the great Eastern Churches and our own is daily increasing in importance and hope, and we earnestly pray to the Supreme Head of the Church that His Spirit may direct our counsels so that there may be removed on both sides all obstacles which pride, prejudice, or the delusions of human weakness may present for preventing its accomplishment;
· Be it Resolved, that we desire the continuation and growth of friendly relations with our brothers of the Holy Eastern Churches in the full assurance that on both sides there will be complete recognition of all feelings and rights which may present dangers from undue or unconscious intrusion;
· Be it Resolved, that since the prospective future business in the event of relations will consist for the most part in relations and communication with the hierarchy of various branches of the Holy Eastern Church, which can be more conveniently done by the bishops of the Church as occasions arise, the joint committee is asked to be relieved from further conduct of this matter.[7]