Catholic Church and ecumenism
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The
Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
has engaged in the modern ecumenical movement especially since the
Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions), each lasting between 8 and ...
(1962-1965) and the issuing of the decree '' Unitatis redintegratio'' and the declaration ''
Dignitatis humanae ''Dignitatis humanae'' (''Of the Dignity of the Human Person'') is the Second Vatican Council's Declaration on Religious Freedom. In the context of the council's stated intention "to develop the doctrine of recent popes on the inviolable rights ...
''. It was at the Council that the
Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity The Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, previously named the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (PCPCU), is a dicastery whose origins are associated with the Second Vatican Council which met intermittently from 1962 to 1965. Po ...
was created. Those outside of the Catholic Church were categorised as
heretics Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important religi ...
(in reference to
Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
) or schismatics (as in the case of the
Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops vi ...
and
Oriental Orthodox Churches The Oriental Orthodox Churches are Eastern Christian churches adhering to Miaphysite Christology, with approximately 60 million members worldwide. The Oriental Orthodox Churches are part of the Nicene Christian tradition, and represent ...
), but in many contexts today, in order to avoid offence, the euphemism "separated brethren" is used.


Definition

Ecumenism, from the Greek word “''oikoumene''”, meaning “the whole inhabited world” (cf. Acts 17.6; Mt 24.14; Heb 2.5), is the promotion of cooperation and unity among Christians. The Union of
Christendom Christendom historically refers to the Christian states, Christian-majority countries and the countries in which Christianity dominates, prevails,SeMerriam-Webster.com : dictionary, "Christendom"/ref> or is culturally or historically intertwine ...
is a traditional
Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
view of ecumenism; the view is that every non-Catholic Christian ecclesial community is destined to return to the unity of the Catholic Church, from which it has broken. As the original Church founded by Jesus Christ (as the Catholic Church teaches of itself) the Catholic Church sees itself as "the
one true church The expression "one true church" refers to an ecclesiological position asserting that Jesus gave his authority in the Great Commission solely to a particular visible Christian institutional church—what is commonly called a denomination. This ...
". This means that according to Catholic teaching, Christian unity is already a reality, present in the Catholic Church. The
Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
's commitment to ecumenism was based on the conviction that a divided Christianity "openly contradicts the will of Christ, scandalizes the world, and damages the holy cause of preaching the Gospel to every creature." "The search for Christian Unity was one of the principal concerns of the Second Vatican Council". This was attested to even from the moment the Council was announced, by Pope John XXIII, during the vespers closing the Octave of Prayer for Christian Unity on 25 January 1959, at the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls. "The Catholic Church is committed to working for the reunion of all Christians, but the exuberant spirit following Vatican II has been tempered. Sober minds realize that the road to full unity will be long and arduous. One of the principal ecclesiological tasks is to discern the relationship between the Churches." Underlying the Catholic Church's pursuit of ecumenism is its recognition that elements of sanctification and truth are found in other churches, that, in some sense, these are Christians and particular churches or ecclesial communities, and that common baptism itself impels those toward greater unity, since Baptism is a gift which "belongs" to the Catholic Church as one of the Sacraments which Christ endowed it with. It can be said that the "ecumenicity" of the Church is another way of expressing her "radical catholicity and/or universality". The ''Directory for the Application of Principles and Norms on Ecumenism'' states that the Bishops of the Catholic Church, "individually for their own dioceses, and collegially for the whole Church, are, under the authority of the Holy See, responsible for ecumenical policy and practice".


Historical perspectives


Before the Second Vatican Council

The
Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
sees itself as the
one, holy, catholic and apostolic church The Four Marks of the Church, also known as the Attributes of the Church, describes four distinctive adjectives of traditional Christian ecclesiology as expressed in the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed completed at the First Council of Constantin ...
, founded by
Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
himself. Its teachings, both before and after the Second Vatican Council, equate the one Church of Christ with the Catholic Church. Ecumenism takes as it starting point that Christ founded just one Church, not many churches; hence the Catholic Church has as its ultimate hope and objective that through prayer, study, and dialogue, the historically separated bodies may come again to be reunited with it. Unity was always a principal aim of the Catholic Church. Before the
Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions), each lasting between 8 and ...
, the Catholic Church defined ecumenism as dialogue with other Christian groups in order to persuade these to return to a unity that they themselves had broken. At the Second Council of Lyon (1274) and the Council of Florence (1438–42), in which some bishops of the
Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops vi ...
es participated, reunion formulas were worked out that failed to win acceptance by the Eastern Churches. The Catholic Church, even before the Second Vatican Council, always considered it a duty of the highest rank to seek full unity with estranged communions of fellow-Christians, and at the same time to reject what it saw as premature and false union that would mean being unfaithful to or glossing over the teaching of Sacred Scripture and Tradition. But the main stress was laid on caution, as exemplified in canon 1258 the 1917 Code of Canon Law: # It is illicit for the faithful to assist at or participate in any way in non-Catholic religious functions. # For a serious reason requiring, in case of doubt, the Bishop's approval, passive or merely material presence at non-Catholic funerals, weddings and similar occasions because of holding a civil office or as a courtesy can be tolerated, provided there is no danger of perversion or scandal.


Since the Second Vatican Council

The aim of the Second Vatican Council, as its initiator
Pope John XXIII Pope John XXIII ( la, Ioannes XXIII; it, Giovanni XXIII; born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, ; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death in June 19 ...
stated, was to seek renewal from within the Church itself, which would serve for those separated from the see of Rome as a "gentle invitation to seek and find that unity for which Jesus Christ prayed so ardently to his heavenly Father". The Council opened up an era of earnest endeavour not only to explain to others the Church's teaching but also to understand their outlook. While the Catholic Church sees itself as "the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church" founded by Christ himself, it recognizes that: The Catholic Church has since the Second Vatican Council, under Popes
John XXIII Pope John XXIII ( la, Ioannes XXIII; it, Giovanni XXIII; born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, ; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death in June 19 ...
, Paul VI, and the beginning of the papacy of
John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
, reached out to other Christian bodies, seeking reconciliation to the greatest degree possible. Significant agreements have been achieved on
baptism Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost ...
,
ministry Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian ...
, and the
Eucharist The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...
with Anglican theologians. With
Evangelical Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched ...
bodies, a similar agreement was reached on the theology of justification. These landmark documents have brought closer fraternal ties with those churches. However, recent developments, such as the ordination of women and of men living in homosexual relationships, present new obstacles to reconciliation with, in particular, Anglicans /Episcopalians. Consequently, in recent years the Catholic Church has focused its efforts at reconciliation with the
Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops vi ...
, with which the theological differences are not as great. While relations with some
Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops vi ...
es were strained in the 1990s over property issues in
post-Soviet states The post-Soviet states, also known as the former Soviet Union (FSU), the former Soviet Republics and in Russia as the near abroad (russian: links=no, ближнее зарубежье, blizhneye zarubezhye), are the 15 sovereign states that wer ...
after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1989-1991, these differences are now largely resolved. Fraternal relations with the Eastern churches continue to progress. The
1983 Code of Canon Law The 1983 ''Code of Canon Law'' (abbreviated 1983 CIC from its Latin title ''Codex Iuris Canonici''), also called the Johanno-Pauline Code, is the "fundamental body of ecclesiastical laws for the Latin Church". It is the second and current comp ...
no longer has canons which absolutely forbid the social cooperation of Roman Catholic clergy (bishops, priests and deacons) with clergy members of other systems of belief. It still absolutely forbids Catholic priests to concelebrate the Eucharist with members of communities not in communion with the Catholic Church (canon 908). The ''Directory for the Application of Principles and Norms on Ecumenism'' states: "Christians may be encouraged to share in spiritual activities and resources, i.e., to share that spiritual heritage they have in common in a manner and to a degree appropriate to their present divided state."


Relations with the World Council of Churches

One of the most significant documents on ecumenical relations was ''Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry'', published by the Faith and Order Commission of the
World Council of Churches The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, most ju ...
(WCC) in 1982. Although the Catholic Church is not a member of the WCC, some Catholic theologians are full members of the Commission, though not as representatives of their church, and participated in the production of the paper, the aim of which was to seek common ground between the various traditions concerning the Christian rite of initiation (Baptism), the sacrament of the
Eucharist The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...
, and the nature of holy orders, while also stating clearly the differences existing between them. The churches were invited to indicate their reactions to the contents of the document, with a view to "analyz(ing) the ecumenical implications for the churches at a future World Conference on Faith and Order."


Relations with churches of the East

The Catholic Church recognizes 21 Ecumenical or General Councils: Nicaea I (325), Constantinople I (381), Ephesus (431), Chalcedon (451), Constantinople II (553), Constantinople III (680–681), Nicaea II (787), Constantinople IV (869–870), Lateran I (1123), Lateran II (1139), Lateran III (1179), Lateran IV (1215), Lyons I (1245), Lyons II (1274), Vienne (1311–1312), Constance (1414–1418), Florence (1438–1445), Lateran V (1512–1517), Trent (1545–1563), Vatican I (1869–1870), Vatican II (1962–1965). Of these, the
Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops vi ...
of Byzantine tradition accepts only the first seven, the family of "
non-Chalcedonian Non-Chalcedonian Christianity comprises the branches of Christianity that do not accept theological resolutions of the Council of Chalcedon, the Fourth Ecumenical Council, held in 451. Non-Chalcedonian denominations reject the Christological ...
" or "pre-Chalcedonian" Churches only the first three, and the Assyrian Church of the East only the first two. In spite of this, dialogue has shown that even where divisions have lasted longer than previous communion – as with the schisms rooted in the Christological controversies at the Council of Ephesus (431) and the
Council of Chalcedon The Council of Chalcedon (; la, Concilium Chalcedonense), ''Synodos tēs Chalkēdonos'' was the fourth ecumenical council of the Christian Church. It was convoked by the Roman emperor Marcian. The council convened in the city of Chalcedon, Bi ...
(451) – the few doctrinal differences often but not always concern terminology, not substance. In fact, as little as a decade of dialogue has done more to heal the divisions than fifteen centuries of apologetics, stereotypes, and suspicion.


Assyrian Church of the East

The Catholic Church recognizes in the Assyrian Church of the East as one of the valid successor bodies of the ancient Church of the Mesopotamian valley, where Christianity had been established by around the year 150, though tradition traces apostolic origins with the Apostle Thomas and his disciples-successors Addai and Mari. The division between the Church of the Persian Empire and the Churches of Rome and Constantinople goes back to the disputes over the legitimacy of the terms ''
mother of God ''Theotokos'' (Greek: ) is a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, used especially in Eastern Christianity. The usual Latin translations are ''Dei Genitrix'' or ''Deipara'' (approximately "parent (fem.) of God"). Familiar English translations ar ...
'' and ''
mother of Christ Christotokos (Greek: , English: ''Christ-bearer'') is a Greek title of Mary, the mother of Jesus, used historically by non-Ephesian (or "Nestorian") Church of the East. Its literal English translations also include ''the one who gives birth to Ch ...
'' for the
Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...
, that came to a head at the Council of Ephesus in 431. The Assyrian Church had adopted radical Antiochene Christology, as articulated by
Nestorius Nestorius (; in grc, Νεστόριος; 386 – 451) was the Archbishop of Constantinople from 10 April 428 to August 431. A Christian theologian, several of his teachings in the fields of Christology and Mariology were seen as contr ...
and
Theodore of Mopsuestia Theodore of Mopsuestia (c. 350 – 428) was a Christian theologian, and Bishop of Mopsuestia (as Theodore II) from 392 to 428 AD. He is also known as Theodore of Antioch, from the place of his birth and presbyterate. He is the best know ...
. They have been sometimes, erroneously, called
Nestorian Nestorianism is a term used in Christian theology and Church history to refer to several mutually related but doctrinarily distinct sets of teachings. The first meaning of the term is related to the original teachings of Christian theologian ...
. This appellation is rejected by the Catholic Church. Dialogue began with a meeting of the Assyrian Patriarch (Catholicos) Mar Dinkha IV and Pope John Paul II in 1984, and the patriarch's participation in the first Assisi Day of Prayer for Peace in 1986. Nearly a decade of dialogue proved sufficient to resolve the disagreements over terminology in Christology, leading to the ''
Common Christological Declaration Between the Catholic Church and the Assyrian Church of the East #REDIRECT Common Christological Declaration Between the Catholic Church and the Assyrian Church of the East {{R from other capitalisation ...
'', signed by
Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
of the Catholic Church and Mar Dinkha IV of the Assyrian Church of the East in 1994. The ''Common Declaration'' recalls that the Assyrian Church of the East prays to the Virgin Mary as "the Mother of Christ our God and Saviour", and the Catholic tradition addresses the Virgin Mary as "the Mother of God" and also as "the Mother of Christ", fuller expressions by which each Church clearly acknowledges both the divinity and the humanity of Mary's son. The co-signers of the Common Declaration could thus state: "We both recognize the legitimacy and rightness of these expressions of the same faith and we both respect the preference of each Church in her liturgical life and piety." Over the next six years, annual meetings of the dialogue came to a common understanding of sacraments, published in 2000 as the "Common Statement on Sacramental Life". It was hoped that this too would be raised to the level of a Joint or Common Declaration, while the dialogue moved on to practical ecclesiological, pastoral, and administrative questions for full communion. However, in 2004, on the eve of a formal common declaration, the Assyrian patriarch and bishops decided to suspend the dialogue, realizing that "all obstacles to restoring full communion with the Catholic Church had been proven to no longer exist". The following year the Assyrian synod suspended their chief ecumenist of twenty years, Mar
Bawai Soro Bawai Soro (born March 3, 1954) is the former Eparch of the Chaldean Catholic Church for the Chaldean Catholic Eparchy of Mar Addai of Toronto. Biography Soro was baptized in the Assyrian Church of the East. He was ordained to the priestho ...
, who had led the dialogue with Rome. In 2008, Mar Bawai, along with six priests, thirty deacons, and about a thousand faithful, broke communion with the Assyrian Church and entered into full communion as part of the Chaldean Catholic Church. The personal tensions from these events further delayed the continuation of reunion talks. In March 2015, Mar Dinkha IV died. In September 2015, a new Catholicos-Patriarch was elected,
Gewargis III Mar Gewargis III ( syr, ܡܪܝ ܓܝܘܪܓܝܣ ܬܠܝܬܝܐ; born Warda Daniel Sliwa, syr, ܘܪܕܐ ܕܢܝܐܝܠ ܨܠܝܒܐ) served as the 121st Catholicos-Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East. On 18 September 2015, the Holy Synod of the ...
.


Dialogue documents

* 1994 Common Christological Declaration * 1997 Joint Synodical Decree for Promoting Unity between the Assyrian Church of the East and the Chaldean Catholic Church * 2001 Guidelines for Admission to the Eucharist Between the Chaldean Church and the Assyrian Church of the East


Oriental Orthodox Churches

Since 2003, the Catholic Church has engaged with the entire communion of Oriental Orthodox Churches as a whole, rather than with each autocephalous church in independent dialogues.


Dialogue documents

''With individual Oriental Orthodox Churches:'' *1971 Common Declaration of Pope Paul VI and Mar Ignatus Jacob III of the Malankara Syrian Orthodox Church *1976 Common Christological Declaration of the Catholic Church and the Coptic Church *1984 Common Declaration of Pope John Paul II and Mar Ignatius Zakka I Iwas of the Malankara Syrian Orthodox Church *1989 Joint Statement of the Catholic and Malankara Orthodox Syrian Churches *1990 Doctrinal Agreement on Christology between the Catholic Church and the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church *1993 Agreement and Pastoral Guidelines for Inter-Church Marriage between Catholics and Malankara Syrian Orthodox *1999 Joint Statement on the Synod of Diamper (AD 1599) by the Catholic and Malankara Orthodox Syrian Churches ''With the Oriental Orthodox Communion as a whole:'' *2009 ''Nature, Constitution, and Mission of the Church'' *2015 ''The Exercise of Communion in the Life of the Early Church and its Implications for our Search for Communion Today''


The Eastern Orthodox Churches

The 1993
Balamand declaration ''Uniatism, method of union of the past, and the present search for full communion'', also known as the Balamand declaration and the Balamand document, is a 1993 report written by the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue Betwee ...
of the
Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue Between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church The Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue Between the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church was established by the Holy See and 14 autocephalous Orthodox churches. Plenary sessions The commission's first ten years o ...
discusses ecclesiological principles and suggests practical rules for both the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Churches to implement about improving relations by reciprocally avoiding interfering in each other's Churches and not using history in a polemical manner. According to Cardinal
Edward Cassidy Edward Idris Cassidy AC (5 July 1924 – 10 April 2021) was an Australian prelate of the Catholic Church who was president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity from 1989 to 2001. He headed the Commission of the Holy See f ...
, the report contains three principles: that individuals have the freedom to follow their conscience, that Eastern Catholic Churches have the right to exist, that uniatism is not the current method of full communion; and two conclusions: that the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Churches are "sister churches" and that
rebaptism Rebaptism in Christianity is the baptism of a person who has previously been baptized, usually in association with a denomination that does not recognize the validity of the previous baptism. When a denomination rebaptizes members of another denomi ...
should be avoided. The principle that "the inviolable freedom of persons and their obligation to follow the requirements of their conscience", is foundational, according to Cassidy, "and justifies both the personal choice to adhere to the Catholic Church or to the Orthodox Church, and offers the possibility of returning to the Catholic Church for those communities which in 1945–49 had been forced to convert by
Communist regime A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state that is administered and governed by a communist party guided by Marxism–Leninism. Marxism–Leninism was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, the Cominte ...
s to become part of the Orthodox Church," as happened in the
Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...
, the
Socialist Republic of Romania The Socialist Republic of Romania ( ro, Republica Socialistă România, RSR) was a Marxist–Leninist one-party socialist state that existed officially in Romania from 1947 to 1989. From 1947 to 1965, the state was known as the Romanian Peop ...
and the
Czechoslovak Socialist Republic The Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, ČSSR, formerly known from 1948 to 1960 as the Czechoslovak Republic or Fourth Czechoslovak Republic, was the official name of Czechoslovakia from 1960 to 29 March 1990, when it was renamed the Czechoslovak ...
. The Eastern Catholics rejected the report "because it seemed to imply they should never have existed in the first place" while the Eastern Orthodox rejected it because it did not call for the abolition of the Eastern Catholic Churches. On 3 July 2019, it was revealed that during a Vatican meeting with Orthodox Archbishop Job of Telmessos, who represented the Orthodox Church's Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, during the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul on 29 June 2019, Pope Francis stated that unity rather than leveling differences should be the goal between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches. Pope Francis also gave Bartholomew nine bone fragments which were believed to have belonged to St. Peter and which were displayed at a public Mass which was held in the Vatican in November 2013 to celebrate the 'Year of Faith.'


Russian Orthodox Church

In February 2016, Pope Francis and Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill held a meeting in Cuba and afterwards issued a joint declaration On 4 July 2019, however, it was confirmed that tensions still remained between the Vatican and the Russian Orthodox Church, with the Ukrainian conflict serving as a major cause of these tensions. Despite holding a "cordial" meeting with Russian President
Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
in the Vatican, Pope Francis stated it is unlikely that he will visit Russia unless Putin agrees to not include the Russian Orthodox Church in the invitation, which Putin stated would be unlikely as well. Pope Francis has also declared support for the
Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church , native_name_lang = uk , caption_background = , image = StGeorgeCathedral Lviv.JPG , imagewidth = , type = Particular church (sui iuris) , alt = , caption = St. George's ...
, which has expressed opposition to Putin and the Russian Orthodox Church. During the first day of a meeting with Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church leaders on 5 July 2019, Pope Francis also accused the Russian Orthodox Church of attempting to manipulate "other religions" in Ukraine as well.


Relations with churches and communions of the West


Lutheran Churches

The Lutheran–Roman Catholic dialogue began over thirty years ago, and has consisted of eleven rounds of discussion. The most recent discussion has focused on doctrines associated with eternal life. The dialogue process has produced one major joint declaration, concerning the doctrine of justification, issued in 1999 called the
Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification The ''Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification'' (JDDJ) is a document created and agreed to by the Catholic Church's Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (PCPCU) and the Lutheran World Federation in 1999 as a result of exte ...
. On Reformation Day in 2016,
Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...
of the
Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
travelled to Sweden (where the Lutheran Church is the national Church) to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the Reformation at
Lund Cathedral Lund Cathedral ( sv, Lunds domkyrka) is a cathedral of the Lutheran Church of Sweden in Lund, Scania, Sweden. It is the seat of the Bishop of Lund and the main church of the Diocese of Lund. It was built as the Catholic cathedral of the archiepi ...
, which serves as the cathedra for the
Bishop of Lund List of (arch)bishops of Lund. Until the Danish Reformation the centre of a great Latin (arch)bishopric, Lund has been in Sweden since the Treaty of Roskilde in 1658. The Diocese of Lund is now one of thirteen in the Church of Sweden. Catho ...
of the
Church of Sweden The Church of Sweden ( sv, Svenska kyrkan) is an Evangelical Lutheran national church in Sweden. A former state church, headquartered in Uppsala, with around 5.6 million members at year end 2021, it is the largest Christian denomination in Sw ...
, a Lutheran Church. An official press release from the
Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...
stated: An ecumenical service was presided over by Bishop Munib Younan, the president of the
Lutheran World Federation The Lutheran World Federation (LWF; german: Lutherischer Weltbund) is a global communion of national and regional Lutheran denominations headquartered in the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, Switzerland. The federation was founded in the Swedish ...
, , the General Secretary of the LWF, as well as Pope Francis, the leader of the Catholic Church. Sr. Susan Wood, a
Sister of Charity Many religious communities have the term Sisters of Charity in their name. Some ''Sisters of Charity'' communities refer to the Vincentian tradition, or in America to the tradition of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, but others are unrelated. The ...
, who is a systematic theology professor and chair of the theology department at Marquette University and a former president of the
Catholic Theological Society of America The Catholic Theological Society of America (CTSA) is a professional association of Catholic theologians founded in 1946 to promote studies and research in theology within the Catholic tradition. Its members are primarily in the United States and ...
, stated that "Since Vatican II, we have acknowledged an imperfect communion between Lutheran and Catholics" and that she personally believed that "there is no substantial difference in Lutheran and Catholic belief in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist". Wood claimed without evidence that in the near future she thought that intercommunion could happen in places "where people can't get out, like nursing homes and prisons." However, besides the generally radically different doctrines of Lutheranism and Catholicism, the fact remains that the Catholic Church does not acknowledge the Lutheran eucharist as valid.


The Anglican Communion


Historic tensions

Long-term hostility between the Catholic Church and the
Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion after the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Founded in 1867 in London, the communion has more than 85 million members within the Church of England and other ...
was engendered by resistance among some English to the declaration of
royal supremacy The Acts of Supremacy are two acts passed by the Parliament of England in the 16th century that established the English monarchs as the head of the Church of England; two similar laws were passed by the Parliament of Ireland establishing the Eng ...
of King Henry VIII over the Church in England, the confiscation of Church properties, the dissolution of the monasteries, guilds and chantries, the execution of priests, forced attendance at Anglican worship, the forced payment of tithes to the state church and the illegalization of the Catholic faith. There was a brief restoration of communion with Rome during the reign of Mary I of England. Her death marked the end of Catholic attempts to reconcile by law the English Church to Rome. Subsequently,
Pope Pius V Pope Pius V ( it, Pio V; 17 January 1504 – 1 May 1572), born Antonio Ghislieri (from 1518 called Michele Ghislieri, O.P.), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1566 to his death in May 1572. He is v ...
's excommunication of
Elizabeth I of England Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". Eli ...
in 1570 and authorisation of rebellion against her contributed to official suspicion of the allegiances of English Catholics. This, combined with a desire to assert the claims of the established church, led to the promulgation of restrictive laws against their civil and religious rights. Elizabethan era restrictions were only relieved through several legislative reforms in the 19th century, cumulatively known as
Catholic emancipation Catholic emancipation or Catholic relief was a process in the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland, and later the combined United Kingdom in the late 18th century and early 19th century, that involved reducing and removing many of the restricti ...
. The last restriction on Catholics preventing them from marrying into the royal family was removed in 2013, though they cannot become monarch since as such they would be the head of the Church of England.


=''Apostolicae curae''

= In 1896
Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-old ...
issued ''Apostolicae curae'' rejecting the
Anglo-Catholic Anglo-Catholicism comprises beliefs and practices that emphasise the Catholic heritage and identity of the various Anglican churches. The term was coined in the early 19th century, although movements emphasising the Catholic nature of Anglica ...
claims of the Oxford Movement and the Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral, such as apostolic succession. In it Leo XIII declared Anglican orders "absolutely null and utterly void." The official reply of the Archbishops of the
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...
was ''
Saepius officio ''Apostolicae curae'' is the title of a papal bull, issued in 1896 by Pope Leo XIII, declaring all Anglican ministry, Anglican ordinations to be "absolutely null and utterly void". The Anglican Communion made no official reply, but the archbish ...
''. The judgment remains in effect to the present. The judgment of nullity was reaffirmed in 1998 by the
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace of the Holy Office in Rome. It was founded to defend the Catholic Church from heresy and is the body responsible ...
, when it gave ''Apostolicae curae'' as an example of the authoritative teaching of the Catholic Church.


=Early ecumenism

= Some attempts at dialogue began in 1915, when
Pope Benedict XV Pope Benedict XV (Latin: ''Benedictus XV''; it, Benedetto XV), born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa, name=, group= (; 21 November 185422 January 1922), was head of the Catholic Church from 1914 until his death in January 1922. His ...
approved a British Legation to the Vatican, led by an Anglican with a Catholic deputy. However, discussion of potential reunion in the Malines Conversations eventually collapsed in 1925. Continued efforts resulted in the spread of the
Week of Prayer for Christian Unity The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is an ecumenical Christian observance in the Christian calendar that is celebrated internationally. It is kept annually between Ascension Day and Pentecost in the Southern Hemisphere and between 18 January ...
in both churches (and others), and the visit of
George Bell George Bell may refer to: Law and politics * George Joseph Bell (1770–1843), Scottish jurist and legal author * George Alexander Bell (1856–1927), Canadian pioneer and Saskatchewan politician * George Bell (Canadian politician) (1869–1940) ...
,
Bishop of Chichester The Bishop of Chichester is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chichester in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers the counties of East and West Sussex. The see is based in the City of Chichester where the bishop's sea ...
, to Cardinal Giovanni Montini of Milan in 1955. First published in ''
Inside the Vatican ''Inside the Vatican'' is a monthly magazine relating to issues within the Roman Curia, at the Vatican in Rome, which is at the very heart of the Roman Catholic Church and Christianity as a whole. History and profile ''Inside the Vatican'' is ...
''.


Post–Second Vatican Council developments

Real rapprochement was achieved under the leadership of
Pope John XXIII Pope John XXIII ( la, Ioannes XXIII; it, Giovanni XXIII; born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, ; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death in June 19 ...
, whose foundation of the " Secretariat for the Promotion of Christian Unity" encouraged Archbishop
Geoffrey Fisher Geoffrey Francis Fisher, Baron Fisher of Lambeth, (5 May 1887 – 15 September 1972) was an English Anglican priest, and 99th Archbishop of Canterbury, serving from 1945 to 1961. From a long line of parish priests, Fisher was educated at Marlb ...
to make a historic, though not entirely official, visit to the Vatican in 1960. Subsequently, the
Bishop of Ripon The Bishop of Ripon is an episcopal title which takes its name after the city of Ripon in North Yorkshire, England. The bishop is one of the area bishops of the Diocese of Leeds in the Province of York. The area bishop of Ripon has oversight o ...
,
John Moorman John Richard Humpidge Moorman, (born Leeds, Yorkshire, England, 4 June 1905; died Durham, England, 13 January 1989) was an English divine, ecumenist and writer who was Bishop of Ripon from 1959 to 1975. Early life and education Born in Leeds, the ...
, led a delegation of Anglican observers to the
Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions), each lasting between 8 and ...
. In 1966, Archbishop
Michael Ramsey Arthur Michael Ramsey, Baron Ramsey of Canterbury, (14 November 1904 – 23 April 1988) was an English Anglican bishop and life peer. He served as the 100th Archbishop of Canterbury. He was appointed on 31 May 1961 and held the office until 1 ...
made an official visit to
Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his death in Augus ...
, and in the following year, the
Anglican–Roman Catholic International Commission The Anglican–Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC) is an organization created in 1969 which seeks to make ecumenical progress between the Anglican–Catholic dialogue. The sponsors are the Anglican Consultative Council and the Pontifica ...
(ARCIC) was established. Its first project focused on the authority of Scripture, and the Commission has since produced nine agreed statements. Phase One of ARCIC ended in 1981 with the publication of a final report, ''Elucidations on Authority in the Church''. Phase Two has been ongoing since 1983. The most recent agreed statement dealt with Marian theology, and was published in 2004. Paul VI went so far as to refer to the Anglican Church as "our beloved sister Church", though this description might not tie in with present thinking in the Vatican. Until recently it was used by the website of the Roman Catholic
Ampleforth College Ampleforth College is a co-educational independent day and boarding school in the English public school tradition located in the village of Ampleforth, North Yorkshire, England. It opened in 1802 as a boys' school, it is situated in the groun ...
(referring to Anglican pupils at that school). "Given the significant extent of our common understanding of the Eucharist and the central importance of the Eucharist to our faith," ARCIC wrote in a non-authoritative statement, ''Growing together in unity and mission'' (GTUM), that "we encourage attendance at each other's Eucharists, respecting the different disciplines of our churches." suggests that "We encourage Anglicans and Roman Catholics to pray for the local bishop of the other church as well as for their own bishop, and for God's blessing on their co-operation where possible in their leadership of the local churches' mission. We welcome the growing Anglican custom of including in the prayers of the faithful a prayer for the pope, and we invite Roman Catholics to pray regularly in public for the Archbishop of Canterbury and the leaders of the Anglican Communion." Since both mutually recognize their administration of baptism, suggests that "a number of practical initiatives are possible. Local churches may consider developing joint programmes for the formation of families when they present children for baptism, as well as preparing common catechetical resources for use in baptismal and confirmation preparation and in Sunday schools. We suggest that our local parishes regularly make a public profession of faith together, perhaps by renewing baptismal promises at Pentecost each year. We invite local churches to use the same baptismal certificate, and, where necessary, to review and improve those currently in use. While respecting current canonical requirements, we also encourage the inclusion of witnesses from the other church at baptisms and confirmations, particularly in the case of candidates from interchurch families."


=New tensions

= Despite the productivity of these discussions, dialogue is strained by the developments in some provinces of the Anglican Communion of the ordination of women, of permissive teaching on abortion, and of the ordination of those in public same-sex sexual relationships as priests and, in one case, a bishop (
Gene Robinson Vicky Gene Robinson (born May 29, 1947) is a former bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire. Robinson was elected bishop coadjutor in 2003 and succeeded as bishop diocesan in March 2004. Before becoming bishop, he served as Canon to the ...
). More progress has been made with respect to Anglican churches outside the Communion. Cardinal
Walter Kasper Walter Kasper (born 5 March 1933) is a German Catholic cardinal and theologian. He is President Emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, having served as its president from 2001 to 2010. Early life Born in Heidenheim ...
, president of the
Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity The Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, previously named the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (PCPCU), is a dicastery whose origins are associated with the Second Vatican Council which met intermittently from 1962 to 1965. Po ...
, warned that if the Church of England was to ordain women as bishops, as the Episcopal Church has done, then it could destroy any chance of reuniting the Anglican and Catholic Churches. Although ARCIC had completed a major document on Marian theology in 2003, John Paul II temporarily called off all future talks between the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion after the consecration of Gene Robinson as bishop. John Paul II made
Pastoral Provision The Pastoral Provision is a set of practices and norms in the Catholic Church in the United States, by which bishops are authorized to provide spiritual care for Catholics converting from the Anglican tradition, by establishing parishes for them an ...
for Anglican congregations which as a whole wish to enter into full communion with the Holy See. There has been only a small number of
Anglican Use The Anglican Use is an officially approved form of liturgy used by former members of the Anglican Communion who joined the Catholic Church while wishing to maintain "aspects of the Anglican patrimony that are of particular value". The use's m ...
parishes, all of which are in the United States. These are Roman Catholic parishes which are allowed to retain some features of the ''
Book of Common Prayer The ''Book of Common Prayer'' (BCP) is the name given to a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The original book, published in 1549 in the reign ...
'' in worship. Additionally, one of the
Continuing Anglican Churches The Continuing Anglican Movement, also known as the Anglican Continuum, encompasses a number of Christian churches, principally based in North America, that have an Anglican identity and tradition but are not part of the Anglican Communion. Thes ...
attempted to achieve the recognition of Rome without abandoning its liturgical traditions, as the Anglican Use parishes have done. According to canon 844 of the
1983 Code of Canon Law The 1983 ''Code of Canon Law'' (abbreviated 1983 CIC from its Latin title ''Codex Iuris Canonici''), also called the Johanno-Pauline Code, is the "fundamental body of ecclesiastical laws for the Latin Church". It is the second and current comp ...
of the
Latin Church , native_name_lang = la , image = San Giovanni in Laterano - Rome.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , alt = Façade of the Archbasilica of St. John in Lateran , caption = Archbasilica of Saint Joh ...
, Catholics should not receive communion from an Anglican minister and Catholic
ministers Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of governme ...
could administer to an Anglican the sacraments of
Eucharist The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...
, Penance and Anointing of the Sick only in danger of death or some other grave and pressing need, and provided the Anglican in question cannot approach an Anglican priest, spontaneously asks for the sacrament, demonstrates the faith of the Catholic Church in respect of the sacrament and is properly disposed (canon 844 §4).


=Anglican ordinariates

= In October 2009, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith announced
Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the soverei ...
's intention to create a new type of ecclesiastical structure, called a
personal ordinariate A personal ordinariate for former Anglicans, shortened as personal ordinariate or Anglican ordinariate,"...the liturgies approved for the Anglican ordinariates..." "Bishop Stephen Lopes of the Anglican Ordinariate of the Chair of St Peter..." ...
, for groups of Anglicans entering into full communion with the see of Rome. The plan would create diocese-like structures for former Anglicans within the Roman Catholic Church independent of existing Latin Rite dioceses. It would allow them to preserve elements of Anglican liturgy, spirituality and religious practice, including married priests but not married bishops. ''
Anglicanorum coetibus A personal ordinariate for former Anglicans, shortened as personal ordinariate or Anglican ordinariate,"...the liturgies approved for the Anglican ordinariates..." "Bishop Stephen Lopes of the Anglican Ordinariate of the Chair of St Peter..." i ...
'' was issued on 4 November 2009. "The
Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter The Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter is a special Catholic diocese for Anglican and Methodist converts in the United States and Canada. It allows these parishioners to maintain elements of Anglican liturgy and tradition in their ...
is equivalent to a diocese, created by the Vatican in 2012 for people nurtured in the Anglican tradition who wish to become Catholic."


Baptists


Disciples of Christ


Evangelical Christians


Mennonites


Methodist Churches


Old Catholic Churches

The
Old Catholic Archdiocese of Utrecht The Old Catholic Archdiocese of Utrecht is an archdiocese within the Old Catholic Church of the Netherlands which split from the Archdiocese of Utrecht officially in 1723 because of the illicit consecration of Cornelius van Steenoven to the ep ...
was formed in 1703 in the area occupied by the historical
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Utrecht The Archdiocese of Utrecht ( la, Archidioecesis Ultraiectensis) is an archdiocese of the Catholic Church in the Netherlands. The Archbishop of Utrecht is the Metropolitan of the Ecclesiastical province of Utrecht. There are six suffragan dioce ...
, which had been canonically suppressed in response to the
Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and ...
in 1580 and superseded by the
Dutch Mission The Holland Mission or Dutch Mission ( or ') (1592 – 1853) was the common name of a Catholic Church missionary district in the Low Countries during and after the Protestant Reformation. History Pre-reformation diocese and archdiocese of ...
erected in 1592. After 1870 several German-speaking Catholics left the Catholic Church in light of the First Vatican Council. Many aligned themselves with the independent Bishop of Utrecht, who ordained clergy among them to form the
Old Catholic Church The terms Old Catholic Church, Old Catholics, Old-Catholic churches or Old Catholic movement designate "any of the groups of Western Christians who believe themselves to maintain in complete loyalty the doctrine and traditions of the undivide ...
es. Though it is not in communion, the Catholic Church recognizes as valid the Old Catholic holy orders and apostolic succession, but does not recognize their ordinations of women to the priesthood begun in the 1970s. The Old Catholic Churches consider themselves to be in full communion with the Anglican Communion. The Polish National Catholic Church ceased intercommunion with both the Anglican Communion in 1978 and the
Union of Utrecht The Union of Utrecht ( nl, Unie van Utrecht) was a treaty signed on 23 January 1579 in Utrecht, Netherlands, unifying the northern provinces of the Netherlands, until then under the control of Habsburg Spain. History The Union of Utrecht is r ...
member churches in 1996, disagreeing over the issue of female ordination. It has since become closer to Rome, which recognizes it to have a similar status as the Orthodox Churches.


Reformed Churches (Continental Reformed, Presbyterian, and Congregationalist)

In 2010, the Catholic Church and the Reformed Churches ratified the Common Agreement on Mutual Recognition of Baptism. As such, both the Catholic Church and the Reformed Churches recognize the validity of baptism performed in each of these denominations.


Pentecostal Christians


Practical ecumenism and church attendance

In many areas of the United Kingdom where there is only one Christian church (such as Anglican, Baptist, Methodist or United Reformed), it may "extend a Declaration of Ecumenical Welcome and Commitment to Christians of other denominations inviting them to be part of the life and witness of that worshipping congregation." The following guidelines were offered by the
Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales The Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales (CBCEW) is the episcopal conference of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. Overview The Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales is the permanent assembly of Catholic Bisho ...
for the faithful: Roman Catholic Archbishop John Bathersby and Anglican Bishop
David Beetge David Beetge was Diocese of the Highveld, Bishop of the Highveld, South Africa, and Dean of the Province of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa—the most senior bishop next to the Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, Archbishop of Cape Town. Born ...
, who chair the International Anglican–Roman Catholic Commission for Unity and Mission, encouraged Protestants and Catholics to attend one another's services, although not receiving Holy Communion at them, as delineated in ''Growing Together in Unity and Mission'':
Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...
said that in northern Argentina, the Anglican bishop and Roman Catholic bishop, both of whom are friends, work together to teach at
Christian missions A Christian mission is an organized effort for the propagation of the Christian faith. Missions involve sending individuals and groups across boundaries, most commonly geographical boundaries, to carry on evangelism or other activities, such ...
with the aborigines. With the
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace of the Holy Office in Rome. It was founded to defend the Catholic Church from heresy and is the body responsible ...
having knowledge of this, both Anglicans and Roman Catholics attend each other's Masses, engaging "in charity together". Praising this ecumenism, Pope Francis declared that "I think this is a richness that our young Churches can bring to Europe and to the Churches that have a great tradition." Pope Francis recalled his own friendship with the Anglicans of Buenos Aires, given that the Anglican Cathedral of St. John the Baptist was juxtaposed with the Roman Catholic parish of Merced.


Major documents


Council documents

* 1274 Second Council of Lyon, ''Session IV: Declaration of Union with the Greek Churches'' * 1439 Council of Basle-Ferrara-Florence, '' Laetentur Caeli: Bull of Union with the Greeks'' * 1964
Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions), each lasting between 8 and ...
, ''
Lumen gentium ''Lumen gentium'', the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, is one of the principal documents of the Second Vatican Council. This dogmatic constitution was promulgated by Pope Paul VI on 21 November 1964, following approval by the assembled bisho ...
: Dogmatic Constitution on the Church'' * 1964
Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions), each lasting between 8 and ...
, '' Unitatis redintegratio: Decree on Ecumenism''


Papal documents

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-old ...
* 1896 ''
Apostolicae curae ''Apostolicae curae'' is the title of a papal bull, issued in 1896 by Pope Leo XIII, declaring all Anglican ordinations to be "absolutely null and utterly void". The Anglican Communion made no official reply, but the archbishops of Canterbury ...
'' * 1899 ''
Testem benevolentiae nostrae ''Testem benevolentiae nostrae'' is an apostolic letter written by Pope Leo XIII to Cardinal James Gibbons, Archbishop of Baltimore, dated January 22, 1899. In it, the pope addressed a heresy that he called Americanism and expressed his concern th ...
'' Pope Pius XI * 1928 ''
Mortalium animos ''Mortalium animos'' ( en, The minds of mortals) is a papal encyclical promulgated in 1928 by Pope Pius XI on the subject of religious unity, condemning certain presumptions of the early ecumenical movement and confirming that the unique Church ...
'' Pope Pius XII * 1950 ''
Humani generis ''Humani generis'' is a papal encyclical that Pope Pius XII promulgated on 12 August 1950 "concerning some false opinions threatening to undermine the foundations of Catholic Doctrine". Theological opinions and doctrines known as ''Nouvelle Théol ...
''
Pope John XXIII Pope John XXIII ( la, Ioannes XXIII; it, Giovanni XXIII; born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, ; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death in June 19 ...
* 1962 '' Gaudet Mater Ecclesia''
Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
* 1995 ''
Ut unum sint ''Ut unum sint'' (Latin: ' That they may be one') is an encyclical by Pope John Paul II of 25 May 1995. It was one of 14 encyclicals issued by John Paul II. Cardinal Georges Cottier, Theologian emeritus of the Pontifical Household, was influe ...
'' * 1995 '' Orientale lumen'' * 1999 ''
Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification The ''Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification'' (JDDJ) is a document created and agreed to by the Catholic Church's Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (PCPCU) and the Lutheran World Federation in 1999 as a result of exte ...
''


Curial documents

* 1993 ''Directory for the Application of Principles and Norms on Ecumenism'' * 1995 ''The Ecumenical Dimension in the Formation of Those Engaged in Pastoral Work'' * 2000 ''
Dominus Iesus ( en, The Lord Jesus) is a declaration by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (previously known as the "Holy Office"), approved in a plenary meeting of the Congregation and signed by its then prefect, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (later ...
''


Extracts

Some elements of the Roman Catholic perspective on ecumenism are illustrated in the following quotations from the Second Vatican Council's 1964 decree on ecumenism, ''Unitatis Redintegratio'' (UR) and John Paul II's 1995 encyclical, ''Ut unum sint'' (UUS).


See also

* East–West Schism *
International Council of Christians and Jews The International Council of Christians and Jews (ICCJ) is an umbrella organization of 38 national groups in 32 countries worldwide engaged in the Christian-Jewish dialogue. Founded as a reaction to the Holocaust, many groups of theologians, hist ...
, a group engaged in Christian-Jewish dialogue *
John Paul II Center for Interreligious Dialogue The John Paul II Center for Interreligious Dialogue is an academic center that serves to build bridges between religious traditions, particularly between Catholic Christian and Jewish pastoral and academic leaders. The Center is a partnership betwee ...
*
Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue The Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue, previously named Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue (PCID), is a dicastery of the Roman Curia, erected by Pope Paul VI on 19 May 1964 as the Secretariat for Non-Christians, and renamed by Pope ...
*
Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and ...
*
Timeline of the Catholic Church The history of the Catholic Church is integral to the history of Christianity as a whole. It is also, according to church historian, Mark A. Noll, the "world's oldest continuously functioning international institution." This article covers a per ...


Notes


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Catholic Church And Ecumenism