ANGLICANS AND' GREEKS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2302, 14 April 1898, Page 46

ANGLICANS AND' GREEKS.

A NOVEL PHENOMENON IN CHURCH HISTORY.

It is pleasant to believe that in Nature the principle of just and equable compensation is paramount. Evolutionists would have us believe that this happy statement is not tenable, especially "in connection with the lives and fate of beings in the lower rungs of animate existence. But many who are not scientifically or cynically inclined prefer to maintain that in the majority of human instances poetic justice is performed here upon earth. In the remainder a postmortem balance is obtained in the other world.

Church history is not usually regarded as a subject which affords illustrations of universal natural principles, but the upholder of the belief in the reality of compensation will find worthy support in an event which, recently consummated, represents the revenge of Nature upon the presumption and arrogance of a great religious sect, and the entire compensation of the indignities which that proud sect heaped .upon one of its schismatic branches. "We refer to the formal declaration of the affinity between the Greek and Anglican Churches.

Ifc is not very long since the principal aspiration of an appreciable section of the Anglican Church was to have the validity of their orders recognised by the Pope. Attempts were made to demonstrate to the Papal intelligence that their descent from tho Apostles was as direct and spiritually real as that of any priest in Roman orders, but the Papal intelligence was too obtuse or too acute to be convinced. The last decision of the Vatican on this important subject partook of the nature of an ultimatum, and the wooers of Papal recognition began to perceive what was for a long time evident to many outsiders, that so long as Pope Leo and his advisers represented the infallible authority on such matters the demands of the would-be repentant daughter of the church would fall on deaf ears. But no sooner had this failure become patent than the Anglican Church made an open endeavour to win the sympathies of another important division of the Christian world, the Orthodox Church of Russia. The results of their fraternal negotiations were signalised in a most unmistakable manner quite recently by a report on " The Hierarchy of the Anglican Church," issued by the Moscow Sacerdotal Academy, a body which is stated to include the " elite " of Russian ecclesiastics. The conclusions of the report may be briefly summed up in the statements to the effect that, the claim of the Anglicans to Apostohc succession is, proved beyond all possibility of doubt, and that the present Anglican ceremony of orcLnat^on is real and valid. The Greek Church claims to be the only true descendant of the primitive Apostolic Church of the first oentunes, and if this claim can be substantiated, not only are the Anglican claims to validity seem to be sound, bul the Apostolic claims of the great Roman Church itself are seen to be hollow. The eclesiastical world must therefore prepare to witness a grand example of the compensation jfrin,ci£l§ — the jmion of. the, greek and Angli-

■ .!■— inifiitrriiiiwrirurmnirt rr<; 'Tniinnrrni«iniin» can Churches to assert the power of 1 thoir position as against that of the church which lias heaped opprobrium, anathema, excommunication, with an arrogant liberality upon them both.

It thus becomes interesting to examine whether there is a solid foundation to the Greek claims to represent the direct successors of the original Apostolic Christian Church. One of the claims of the Roman Church, it will be remembered, is that it is the true descendant of the church founded by the Apostles. To the Nonconformist the settlement of this dispute may appear to be a matter of indifference, as he has lost all reverence for the alleged mysterious efficacy of the ceremony of ordination. But as this same question has an intimate bearing on the future position of the State Church of England, it is of no little importance to endeavour to estimate what tho Greek recognition of the Anglican orders really amounts to.

The grounds of the Greek assertion of their superiority in point of origin may be narrowed down to the statement that the Roman Church itself was originally an outgi'GWth from the community which we still known as the Greek Church. This church boasts of reading the Old and New Scriptures on the languages in which they were read and spoken by the Apostles. It also holds that the Greek fathers first expounded the dogmas of Christianity, that the forms and language of the earliest Christian worship were Greek, and that the great bulk of the Christian body during the first five centuries was formed by the Eastern Church.

The circmstances, which led to the formation of the separate body of the Roman Church were, in the Greek view, mainly political. At the beginning of the fourth century Rome, Alexandria, and Antioch were the three patriarchial sees of the Christian Church, Rome then being the least important. The seat of the Empire being transferred to Constantinople, that city naturally became the headquarters of the church, and although a general council of the church in 381 placed Constantinople second to Rome in the order of ecclesiastical importance, it is held by the Greek Church that tnis precedence of Rome was granted merely upon consideration of the political distinction to which these cities had successively risen The Holy City of Jerusalem itself, it is pointed out, did not attain to the honour of a patriarchate until the middle of the fifth century.

The differences of language and custom which separated East and West began to show themselves ■in the divisions which aiose between the Christian bodies at Rome and at Constantinople, While the East maintained in a measure the democratic traditions of Hellas, the West became autocratic, after the manner of typical Roman government. The former held with admirable tenacity to the old spirit and teaching of the church, while the latter seemed poses^ed with a desire for change. Theological differences therefore arose, and were principally characterised by the non-accept-ance by the ' Greeks of Roman doctrinal innovations.

Among these innovations were the enforcement of clerical celibacy, the use of unleavened bread in the Eucharist, and the denial to priests of the power to administer confirmation. More important than these wa,i the claim put forward by Rome for the doctrinal supremacy of the Roman pontiff. But the main point which produced the rupture between the churches of the .bast and the West was the Roman belief in the doctrine of the " two-fold procession of the Holy Ghost," the word " Filioque " (" and from the Son") being interpolated in the ancient creed. The controversy upon this point did more than anything else to separate and keep apart the Roman and Greek Churches. Like most theological controversies, it shows no sign of being settled.

Efforts at reconciliation proved unavailing, and as time went on the breach widened and deepened. At the present day there seems not the faintest hope of any union between the two churches. Some hope might be entertained were the Roman Church not so particular about the recognition of Papal supremacy. But so long as ihai doctrine of Roman Catholicism remains central and insurmountable the reunion of these two, great divisions of the Christian Church will remain a vain dream.

The most interesting feature of this chapter of ecclesiastical history has still to bs observed. The Roman Church, according to Greek opinion, was formed by a secession from the original Apostolic Church, now represented by the Orthodox Greek Church of Russia. The Anglican Church, according to the Roman Catholics, was formed by a secession from Rome. Both Anglicans and Greeks seem now to be bent upon proving the virtual identity of the church of the former, the church of double schism, with the original church. In doctrinal matters the Anglican and Greek Churches are not very widely apart ; and, in fact, the differences of this kind which separate them are due to a great extent to the Anglican adherence to certain doctrines characteristic of the Church of Rome. There is some talk of a general council of these two anti-Roman bodies to arrange a scheme of doctrinal adjustments which would permit of satisfactory union. If this were to prove successful — and there is a hope that it ultimately will — there will be little to stand m the way of the formation of the most powerful combination, which will emphasise, more than all Protestant efforts have yet done, the isolation of the great body of Papal adherents.

It is practically impossible to form any reliable estimate of the possible political consequences of this church union, as it is not likely to be consummated for many years yet. But if it has any such effect it will be to draw the English nation, or at loasu the church portion of it, into close harmony with the Russian nation. Religious antipathy has been a frequent source of international jealousy in the past, and it is by no means to be regretted if a domonstrated similarity of religious belief promises" to be instrumental in cementing an international friendship which is by n* means entirely secure. The political power of the churches is nominally gone, but they stiJ possess the power of influencing the public aspirations and emotions for good or for evil..

The" union of the Greek and Anglican! Churches will encourage the sentiment of hi man brotherhood, which is becoming more prominent as enlightened tolerance is making its way gradually into ecclesiastical circles.

Contrary to what might appear at first sight, however, this tmion, when formally consummated, will place further into, the remote future the attainment of the desires of the prophets of Christian union. The Grseco -Anglican alliance can hardly avbid becoming, in no small measure, an anti-Roman combination ; and as this combination will strengthen the hands of both non-Papist bodies, the struggles of Rome to regain its lost supremacy in Europe will become fiercer as she becomes more desperate. The Greek Church is not a proselytising one, but it can 'hardly fail to become in time affected by the missionary spirit of the allied Angli-t cans. This will increase the intensity of the sectarian struggle. The contemplated union is not, therefore, likely to sweeten the bitter-! ness of religious controversy, or to make the .attitude of Rome any less uncompromising or aggressive. Taking these considerations into account, the proposed union cannot be re-, gaided as an unmixed blessing

A a an ecclesiastical phenomenon it is, however, without parallel, and the development of the movement towards complete union wiil be watched with interest by many, both within and without the two chm'ches. The Greek Church will probably regard the Anglican advances as an emphatic compliment to their claims for recognition as the Mother oi all Christian Churches. And tha Anglicans themselves will be inspired by the thtught that in the bosom of orthodoxy they will find the spiritual solace which the Scarlet Woman has again ana again denied, them.