Coptic interpretations of the Fourth Ecumenical Council - Saint Mina ...

Church which imposed the anathemas for pastoral or other reasons of that time,
has also the power to lift them for the same pastoral or other reasons of our
time. This is part of the stewardship or Oikonomia of the Church.
6. Does the lifting of an anathema imposed by an ecumenical council call in
question the infallibility of the Church? Are we by such actions implying that
a Council was essentially mistaken and therefore fallible? What are the
specific limits within which the infallibility of the Church with her
divine-human nature operates? We are agreed that the lifting of the anathemas
is fully within the authority of the Church and does not compromise her
infallibility in essential matters of the faith. There was some question as to
whether only another ecumenical council could lift the anathema imposed by an
ecumenical council. There was general agreement that a Council is but one of
the principal elements expressing the authority of the Church, and that the
Church has always the authority to clarify the decisions of a Council in
accordance with its true intention. No decision of a Council can be separated
from the total tradition of the Church. Each council brings forth or
emphasizes some special aspect of the one truth, and should therefore be seen
as stages on the way to a fuller articulation of the truth. The dogmatic
definitions of each council are to be understood and made more explicit in
terms of subsequent conciliar decisions and definitions.
7. The lifting of anathemas should be prepared for by careful study of the
teaching of these men, the accusations levelled against them, the
circumstances under which they were anathematized, and the true intention of
their teaching. Such study should be sympathetic and motivated by the desire
to understand and therefore to overlook minor errors. An accurate and
complete list of the persons on both sides to be so studied should also be
prepared. The study should also make a survey of how anathemas have been
lifted in the past. It would appear that in many instances in the past
anathemas have been lifted without any formal action beyond the mere reception
of each other by the estranged parties on the basis of their common faith.
Such a study would bring out the variety of ways in which anathemas were
imposed and lifted.
8. There has also to be a process of education in the churches both before and
after the lifting of the anathemas, especially where anathemas and
condemnations are written into the liturgical texts and hymnody of the church.
The worshipping people have to be prepared to accept the revised texts and
hymns purged of the condemnations. Each church should make use of its
ecclesiastical journals and other media for the pastoral preparation of the
people.
9. Another important element of such education is the rewriting of Church
history, text-books, theological manuals and catechetical materials.
Especially in Church history, there has been a temptation on both sides to
interpret the sources on a partisan basis. Common study of the sources with
fresh objectivity and an eirenic attitude can produce common texts for use in
both our families. Since this is a difficult and time consuming project, we
need not await its completion for the lifting of anathemas or even for the
restoration of Communion.
10. The editing of liturgical texts and hymns to eliminate the condemnations
is but part of the task of liturgical renewal. We need also to make use of the
infinite variety and richness of our liturgical traditions, so that each
church can be enriched by the heritage of others.
11. There seems to exist some need for a deeper study of the question: ''Who
is a Saint?'' Neither the criteria for sainthood nor the processes for
declaring a person as a Saint are the same in the Eastern and Western
traditions. A study of the distinctions between universal, national and local
saints, as well as of the processes by which they came to be acknowledged as
such, could be undertaken by Church historians and theologians. The lifting of
anathemas need not await the results of such a study, but may merely provide
the occasion for a necessary clarification of the tradition in relation to the
concept of sainthood.
12. Perhaps we should conclude this statement with the observation that this
is now the fourth of these unofficial conversations in a period of seven
years. It is our hope that the work done at an informal level can soon be
taken up officially by the churches, so that the work of the Spirit in
bringing us together can now find full ecclesiastical response. In that hope
we submit this fourth report to the churches.
Eastern Orthodox Oriental Orthodox
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