Coptic Church & Ecumenical Movement - Saint Mina Coptic ...

i The Trinitarian God,
ii Salvation,
iii The “Good News” of the gospel itself,
iv Human beings as created in the image and likeness of God, and
v The Church, among others.
Our hope is that the results of Faith and Order will find a more prominent place in the
various expressions of the WCC, and that tendencies in the opposite direction will not
be encouraged. The Orthodox, consequently, attribute special significance to the
work of the Faith and Order Commission of the WCC, and view with concern each
tendency to undermine its place in the structure of the Council.
4. The Orthodox follow with interest, but also with a certain disquiet, the
developments of the WCC towards the broadening of its aims in the direction of
relations with other religions. The Orthodox support dialogue initiatives,
particularly those aiming at the promotion of relations of openness, mutual respect
and human cooperation with neighbours of other faiths. When dialogue takes
place, Christians are called to bear witness to the integrity of their faith. A genuine
dialogue involves greater theological efforts to express the Christian message in
ways that speak to the various cultures of our world. All this, however, must occur
on the basis of theological criteria, which will define the limits of diversity. The
biblical faith in God must not be changed. The definition of these criteria is a
matter of theological study, and must constitute the first priority of the WCC in
view of its desired broadening of aims.
5. Thus, it is with alarm that the Orthodox have heard some presentations on the
theme of this Assembly. With reference to the theme of the Assembly, the
Orthodox still await the final texts. However, they observe that some people tend
to affirm with very great ease the presence of the Holy Spirit in many movements
and developments without discernment. The Orthodox wish to stress the factor of
sin and error, which exists in every human action, and separate the Holy Spirit
from these. We must guard against a tendency to substitute a “private” spirit, the
spirit of the world or other spirits for the Holy Spirit who proceeds from the Father
and rests in the Son. Our tradition is rich in respect for local and national cultures,
but we find it impossible to invoke the spirits of “earth, air, water and sea
creature”. Pneumatology is inseparable from Christology or from the doctrine of
the Holy Trinity confessed by the Church on the basis of Divine Revelation.
1. The Orthodox are sorry that their position with regard to eucharistic communion
has not been understood by many members of the WCC, who regard the Orthodox
as unjustifiably insisting upon abstinence from eucharistic communion.
The Orthodox once more invite their brothers and sisters in the WCC to understand
that it is a matter of unity in faith and fundamental Orthodox ecclesiology, and not
a question of triumphalistic stance.
For the Orthodox, the Eucharist is the supreme expression of unity and not a means
toward unity. The present situation in the ecumenical movement is for us an
experience of the cross of Christian division. In this regard, the question of the
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