Enlarge
the space of your tent Is 54:2
The tent is a space of communion, participation and
mission.
Europe as a continent is the cradle of many Eastern
Churches, especially of the Greek tradition. Many Eastern Churches of Syriac
origin are also prominently present in Europe as migrants either due to war and
persecution or from economic perspectives. Syro Malabar Church in Europe is an
example of a Syriac Church that migrated to Europe from an economic perspective
in terms of quality of life, economic stability, and educational and job
opportunities.
The native Church in Europe always welcomed the
Eastern Churches. The Catholic Church through its numerous magisterial documents
and exhortations appreciated the importance of Eastern Churches and their
heritage especially the richness of their liturgico theological rituals and
rubrics.
For Catholic Church, enlarging the space of the tent is widening
the acceptance, appreciation and promotion of Eastern Churches in Europe to contribute,
complement and collaborate. Through this collaboration, the revealed mysteries
in different perspectives manifested in different individual particular
churches complement together to make the Catholic Church more Catholic.
Catholic- Universal inclusiveness.
The term Catholic was first used by Saint Ignatius of
Rome who was a disciple of Saint John, the Evangelist. Saint Ignatius of Rome
in his Epistles to Smyrneans wrote in AD 110 that the Catholic Church is the
Universal Church[1].
In a letter of the Church of Smyrna on the occasion of the martyrdom of Saint
Polycarp (69-155 AD) the term ‘catholic’ again appears with a meaning that the catholic
church is the aggregation of all local churches and congregations[2]. Saint Cyril of Jerusalem
of the fourth century wrote ‘the Church is Catholic not just because it spread
all over the World, but it teaches all the doctrines completely and without
defect[3]. The term Catholic is not
just the universal presence of the Church but the universal inclusiveness of
all traditions and cultures.
In this perspective, the Synodality of the Catholic
Church is a synodality of all Christian traditions. People of God of all traditions
should walk together contributing and complementing the revealed mysteries of
salvation. Therefore, this synodality should be aimed at supporting and promoting
the Eastern Churches. There needs to be a lot of formation needed for both the
native Churches of Europe and the migrant churches in Europe. There have to be efforts
to create an increased awareness among the native churches about the different
streams of Christianity, different traditions and rituals and their theological
base. Similarly, there have to be efforts to increase the awareness of the rich
liturgical traditions and spirituality of Eastern Churches, their contributory
role and the importance of preserving and promoting them among the migrant
eastern Churches. Most of the rituals
and traditions manifested in Eastern Churches are ancient and apostolic and sub-apostolic
in origin and therefore they are more Fidel to the Church in its origins and
sources of salvation[4].
There are eastern Churches in communion with Rome and their respective
counterparts not in communion with Rome cohabiting in Europe. The cohabitation
and promotion of these individual churches in Catholic communion and out of
Catholic communion in Europe should be taken in principle, supporting and respecting
each other and also hampering any activities widening the separation between
them. Therefore, any parallel or hybrid spirituality evolving in the Catholic
Eastern Churches due to their long-term relations with Rome should be
prohibited to allow reconciliation with their non-catholic counterparts.
A synodality without accepting and respecting the non-catholic
Eastern Churches in Europe is a counter-witness of Jesus Christ. The existence
of non-catholic Eastern Churches is a scandal for the Synodality of the Catholic
Church. Catholic Church should do all efforts to reconcile with the Eastern
Churches to widen the tent. It is actually
(….)making
room for their diversity. It entails a willingness to die to self out of love,
finding oneself again in and through a relationship with Christ(….)[5].
This action needs a mentality of Christ as seen in Phil
2:5-7 as narrated in the Anaphora of Theodore of the Syro Malabar Qurbana.
(….) though he was in the form of God, did
not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied
himself taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness[6].
The dignity of Eastern Churches and
Ecumenism.
The Catholic Church historically chipped some of the members
of the Eastern Churches into the communion in an Imperial way creating parallel
churches and they are the Eastern Catholic Churches. This action created
division in those churches and they are not walking together. These Eastern
Catholic Churches tried to become carbon copies of the Roman Church[7]. They are considered
junior partners in Catholic communion. Some of the heads of these Churches were
given membership in the College of Cardinals. In fact, as heads of these
Eastern Catholic Churches, they have much higher dignity than mere membership
in the council of the Roman Church. They should be considered equal to the head
of the Roman Church in the Catholic communion with the Pope of Rome as primus
inter pares. There has to be an upper council in the Catholic communion above
the college of Cardinals consisting of the Pope of Rome and the 23 heads of the
Eastern Catholic Churches to uphold the dignity of the Eastern Catholic Churches. This compromise of the dignity of the Eastern
Catholic Churches could be the reason their counterparts would not want to join
the Catholic communion. The catholic church should empty her imperial face and ‘take
the form of a servant as Jesus did, to reconcile with those Eastern Churches in
Europe to make the Synodality a walking together of all people of God in different
traditions and heritage. As all Apostles walked together with Jesus, all these
Churches should walk together in Christ.
[1] J
H Srawley The Epistles of saint Ignatius, London 1900, online version accessed
on 22/7/22 p 97 foot note 1
http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/srawley/index.html
St Igantius argues that the Bishop is the centre of
each individual church as Jesus Christ is the centre of the Universal Church.
[2] H B Swete, The Apostolic creed, its relation
to primitive Christianity, 1894 p 75
[3] J
H Srawley The Epistles of saint Ignatius, London 1900, online version accessed
on 22/7/22 p 97 foot note 1 http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/srawley/index.html
[4]
Instructions for applying the Liturgical principles for the code of canons of
the Eastern Churches No 9
[5]
Enlarge the space of your tent, Working document or the continental stage, Secretaria
Generalis Synod, No 28
[6] Enlarge
the space of your tent, Working document or the continental stage, Secretaria
Generalis Synod, No 28
[7] Xavier Koodapuzha, Congregation for the
Eastern Churches Instructions, in Antony G Kollamparampil, Joseph Perumthottam,
(Eds) Bride at the feet of the bridegroom, HIRS Publications, 1997, p 17
