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understanding, not comprornise, are
the issues.
Perhaps the problem is one of
defi11i–
tion
-
of what is meant by com–
promise. But it is difficult to see how
sorne kinds of cornpromise can be ex–
cluded frorn the situation. T he type of
church conceived by sorne would require
the abandonrnent of dearly held ideas
of doctrine, structure, and worship -
no matter whether you use the term
"cornprornise" or sorne other.
As one delegage to a WCC confer–
ence in Canada said: "An emotional
commitrnent to compromise is neces–
sary." The fear of compromising what
they feel is absolute truth revealed from
God is one of the greatest fears of those
questioning the ecumenical movernent.
But those objecting to, or cautious
about church union, have not prevented
rnany significant strides from being
taken. The arnount of ecumenical work
accomplished and being accomplished is
hard to describe as anything less than
impressive.
The Ecumenical Ship Sails On
When the World Council of
Churcbes was born in 1948, it took for
its symbol a ship named
Oikottmene.
Looking at events just in the last dec–
ade, the ship of ecumenism seems to be
growing both in tonnage and mornen–
tum.
The only major Christian groups
which have failed to join the WCC are
the Roman Catholic Church and the
Southern Baptist Convention of the
United States. But now it seerns that the
Roman Catholic Cburch could becorne a
member within five years, according to a
Reuters release in mid-January of this
year. According to that report, the sub–
ject seems very likely to be brought up
and discussed in a Roman Catholic
synod in Rome this comíng October.
Previous overtures f rom the WCC to
the pope, on his historie visit to Geneva
in
1969,
had been politely but firrnly
rejected. The pope had said then that
the "time wasn' t right." But it seerns
now the ti.IDe may be "right" about
1975.
The
PLAIN TRUTH
Rome Leads the Way
Strangely enougb, as many would
view it, the Roman Cathol ic Church is
out in front and leading the way toward
church unity. The climate since John
XXIII and Vatican II has taken the
breath of "progressive" Protestants
(and not a few Catholics, too, it
seerns!). As Edward B. Fiske, writing
for
The New York Times
put it, sorne
Protestaots "have the uneasy feeling
that the spirit of bis (Martín Luther's]
reform has outrun tbem and is now
largely in the possession of Roman
Catholics."
Right after the end of Vatican
II,
Lutheran bishop Otto Dibelius of Berlin .
commented:
"If
the Catholic church of
450 years ago had looked as it does
today, there never would have been a
Reformation." Many Protestants feel
the same way and are asking why the
need for continuéd separation. The
well-known Protestant ecumenist Dr.
Robert M. Brown expressed bis feelings
that "Protestaots cannot índefinitely
justify a situation of continued
separation."
Speaking in Jaouary, 1971 to pilgrims
in
St.
Peter's, Pope Paul acknowledged
that a great deal of the blame for di–
vided Christianity líes with Rome. He
lan1ented it was very strange indeed that
the dlUrcbes "menaced by modero irre–
ligion were disunited and often rivals."
Other papal firsts for Pope Paul in–
elude the idea of sharing clerical train–
ing between Protestants and Catholics
( 1970), the first meeting between pope
and Greek Orthodox patriarch in 500
years (1967) , meeting of the first
official delegation of Lutherans to come
to Rome (1969), the first meeting
between pope and the head of the
Armenian Orthodox Church since 451
A.D. (1970), and the order to unify
all Catholic textbooks to give greater
balance and fairness to the presentation
of religious controversies (1970).
E.'l~I\ th~ Koig,b.~
Qt
C<ll..uro.b.IJ.s. ao..d
the Masons, traditional enernies for
centuries, are burying the hatchet and
encouraging closer rapport with one
another!
July 1971
But with all this activity on the part
of Catholics, let's not assume that
ecumenical Protestants languish in indo–
lence. They have been hard at work,
too.
Protestants Also Busy
The nine denominations in the Con–
sultatíon on Church Union are working
toward a complete union ínto one
church by the late 70's. This union
would include such diverse groups as
Presbyterian, Episcopal, Church of
Christ and Methodist.
I n April, 1968 an 11-million-rnember
United Methodist Church was formed
when the Methodist Church and the
Evangelical United Brethren Church
carne tog<:ther to make up the second–
Jargest Protestant denomination in the
United States.
The Church of England and the
Methodist churches in England are
working on the initial stages of a union
which is hoped to be effected by 1980.
The evangelical churches (sometimes
called "fundamentalísts") have been
the traditional opponents of church
unity. Around 40 million strong, they
represent a solid majority of the approx–
irnately 70 million Protestants in the
United States. Yet less than a third be–
long to the National Coundl of
Churches.
But even the evangelicals are working
toward their own unity, whatever they
may feel toward other denominations.
This work is mainly being done
through the white National Association
of Evangelicals and the National Negro
Evangelical Association, both of which
had confcrences in Los Angeles in
April.
This is only a san1pling of the many
operations for church unity now in
progress. A review of all that has been
accomplished is ímpressive. But how far
has the ecumenical movement gone?
What work remains to be done? A
great deal,
despite advances already
made. But can the obstacles to final
Chur(h
un.IOil be OVerCOffie?
Much Left to Be Done
One of the fi rst problems which
comes to mind is that of a
goal.
Just