Where is consensus and where is compromise?

One of the participants in the mixed theological commission, the representative of the Russian Orthodox Church to European international organizations, Bishop Hilarion of Vienna and Austria, in an interview with the Interfax-Religion portal, outlined topics that Moscow intends to work on in advance. Firstly, the question of primacy in the Universal Church. In the second millennium, the Pope became the de facto “patriarch of the West,” and the Patriarch of Constantinople began to be perceived as the head of the Eastern churches, although not a single canon speaks of the primacy of Constantinople. (In practical terms, this state of affairs leads, in particular, to the fact that in controversial situations Constantinople is turned to as an arbiter, as was the case, for example, during the conflict in the Sourozh diocese.) The position of the Russian Orthodox Church: there cannot be primacy of jurisdiction - it can be only a primacy of honor. The second topic is whether important theological issues can be decided by voting. The Russian Orthodox Church believes that it is necessary to achieve consensus on them and voting is inappropriate here. And third is the problem of representation. The multimillion-strong Russian Church is represented in the commission by two delegates, like any other, even small in number. The co-chairman of the commission is a representative of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, as well as the secretary. All this, according to Bishop Hilarion, creates a certain imbalance.

In addition, at the beginning of June, the President of the Council of Bishops' Conferences of Europe (SEKE), Cardinal Peter Erdő, arrives in Moscow to participate in Orthodox-Catholic consultations. The topic of the discussion initiated by the DECR MP is “Anthropological and ethical foundations of church teaching on the social order, human rights and personal dignity.” Cardinal Peter Erdő also sees the benefit of regular meetings. He even proposed holding an annual Orthodox-Catholic forum on pressing issues of our time. This is necessary to “improve the human atmosphere” and local cooperation, the cardinal believes.