Tuesday, February 15, 2005
CHARTA OECUMENICA
The Conference of European Churches and the Council of European Bishops' Conferences signed a joint set of Guidelines for the Growing Cooperation among the Churches in Europe. As the website states:
To the Conference of European Churches belong almost all Orthodox, Protestant, Anglican, Old-Catholic and independent churches in Europe. In the Council of European Bishops' Conferences are represented all Roman Catholic Bishops' Conferences in Europe.
The Charta states:
I. We Believe in "One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church" (1. Called Together to Unity in Faith)
II. On the Way Towards the Visible Fellowship of the Churches in Europe (2. Proclaiming the Gospel together, 3. Moving towards one another, 4. Acting together, 5. Praying together, 6. Continuing in dialogue)
III. Our Common Responsibility in Europe (7. Participating in the building of Europe, 8. Reconciling peoples and cultures, 9. Safeguarding the creation, 10. Strengthening community in Judaism, 11. Cultivating relations with Islam, 12. Encountering other religions and world views)
The document was signed April 22, 2001 at Strasbourg, by Metropolitan Jeremie, President of Conference of European Churches and Cardinal Vlk, President of Council of European Bishops' Conferences.
The passage under item #5 above, "Praying together" indicates the movement intends "to deepen the spiritual fellowship among the churches." It admits that:
In some churches reservations subsist regarding praying together in an ecumenical context. But we have many hymns and liturgical prayers in common, notably the Lord's Prayer, and ecumenical services have become a widespread practice: all of these features of our Christian spirituality.
How far do they intend to take this? Ecumenical services with the Orthodox, and with some Protestant communities is certainly possible. With other Protestant communities there is a vast difference in beliefs. Consider the current controversies among the Anglicans. But what is most shocking is this ecumenical blend including Old Catholics. Ecumenical activities with at least some Old Catholics involve gnosticism.
Consider:
Gnostics and Templars by Bishop T. Dionysus, an essay taken from Gnostic Gnews. Note the phrase in the third paragraph: "the development of the Gnostic Catholic Church out of the Old Catholic "Wandering" Episcopate."
The fourth paragraph makes it clear just where this is headed: "In Crowley's 1912 c.e. Manifesto for his Mysteria Mystica Maxima Lodge of O.T.O. there is an explicit claim to possess within the Order 'the wisdom and the knowledge of' the Gnostic Catholic Church.'
Then there is the Thelem,a Lodge Calendar for November 1998 e.v. website where David Nicholls' obituary indicates: "A second degree O.T.O. initiate under the magical name of Frater Triskaideka, he came to the O.T.O. early in 1994 e.v. as a deacon in the Old Catholic Church, and his occult studies retained a characteristic element of Christian mysticism even as he whole-heartedly blazed his unique path as a devoted Thelemite."
It isn't just the Gnostic Catholic Church that comes under the Old Catholic umbrella. The History of the Liberal Catholic Church begins:
Established in England in 1916 through a reorganization of the former Old Catholic Church in Great Britain, the new movement quickly spread to other countries, and in 1918 adopted its distinctive name, THE LIBERAL CATHOLIC CHURCH. Its Episcopal succession is derived from the Old Catholic Church of Holland through Archbishop Arnold Harris Mathew and his Auxiliary, Bishop Frederick Samuel Willoughby...Archbishop Mathew ordained a number of Theosophists to the Priesthood, knowing that they were Theosophists and knowing about their philosophy.
But it doesn't stop there. Gerald Gardner: The History of Wicca: Essays tells us that the founder of modern Wicca Gerald Gardner was associated with the Old Catholic Movement and was a friend of Aleister Crowley and associated with the Ordo Templi Orientis.
An Independent Old Catholic denomination in the UK is forming "household church" groups of up to "20 Christians, coming together for worship and fellowship." This church does not own church buildings. How is the priesthood that is so closely associated with Catholicism handled in this group?
In any case, what is most eye-popping of all is the website of Mary Ann Collins (A Former Catholic Nun) dated December 2004, and titled "Transubstantiation (the Eucharist)". This is quite an essay. Collins does not believe the bread and wine change to the Body and Blood of Christ. Rather she believes it is a metaphor. But that's the least of worries. She tells us that:
Sometimes a Catholic priest (or Orthodox priest) becomes a satanist. And sometimes a satanist priest finds a way to become ordained as a Catholic (or Orthodox) priest.
Quoting an email message she says came from Christian minister Bill Schnoebelen, she writes:
"In Anton LaVey's official biography, 'The Devil's Avenger,' by Burton Wolfe, it is stated that LaVey was consecrated an Orthodox bishop by a Greek Orthodox bishop in exchange for the bishop being made a satanic priest.
"Alex Sanders, the 'King of the Witches,' also sought, and received, Holy Orders and was made a bishop.
"Aleister Crowley was consecrated a bishop in the Old Roman Catholic Church from the succession of Archbishop Joseph Rene Villatte.... His Orders...are regarded by the Vatican as being 'valid but illicit.' I have a letter to that effect from Franz Cardinal Seper, who at that time was the head of the Sacred Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith."
Then she adds:
Note that both Crowley and Schnoebelen were ordained in the OLD Roman Catholic Church. Its members say that they have the same Apostolic succession as the regular Roman Catholic Church.
What role are these heretical sects playing in the Conference of European Churches, and thus in this Charta Oecumenica? What role do they play in the ecumenical services being attended by the members of this newly formed joint venture?
An article at swissinfo gives an answer:
Swiss churches have signed an ecumenical charter on closer cooperation in Europe--the first such document since the 11th century. The text of the Charta Oecumenica which was drawn up in 2001, speaks of the need for Christian unity in Europe. ...Representatives of ten Christian denominations in Switzerland signed the document at an inter-confessional gathering in the church of St. Ursanne in northwest Switzerland. ...
The document dates back to a European ecumenical gathering in Strasbourg, France, and aims at a common approach to spreading the Christian faith. It was drawn up by representatives of the Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox traditions.
Sunday's service...was presided over by Fritz-Rene Muller, bishop of the Old Catholic Church. Representatives of the ten members of the community of Christian churches in Switzerland signed the document at the close of the service.
At least one Orthodox denomination has withdrawn from this endeavor:
The Georgian Orthodox Church:
The Georgian Orthodox Church in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia has decided to leave two major ecumenical bodies--the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Conference of European Churches (CEC), both based in Geneva.
The decision was taken at an emergency meeting of the holy synod of the church on 20 May, following strong pressure from Georgia's leading monasteries against further participation in the international ecumenical movement. The sudden decision of the synod came as a surprise even to those who had campaigned against the church's membership of the WCC.
It is the first time that an Orthodox church has taken the decision to leave the WCC or CEC. The decision of the Georgian church, according to some observers, will strengthen anti-ecumenical movements in other Orthodox churches.
The article spells out the difficulties the Orthodox find with these movements:
The concerns most often cited by Orthodox critics of the international ecumenical movement and the WCC include what they claim are its vague ecclesiological concepts, and concern about developments in what they describe as "Western Protestantism" including the endorsement of women priests, the revision of Christian views on homosexuality, as well as use of inclusive language for the Bible.
Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us!
