The 15 Leaked Orthodox Preconditions for Reunion With Rome
The East Tries to Drive A Hard Bargain
Pope Francis has made ecumenical “dialogue” with the Orthodox, including summits with Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, and Oriental Orthodox representatives a priority in his pontificate.
While discussions to heal the nearly millennia-long split are ongoing and nowhere near conclusion, there have been some early signs of success, such as Patriarch Bartholomew saying last month that he is “full of hope that they [problems] will be resolved in a few years” and Pope Francis frequently speaking at length about the simple unifying potential of the Nicene Creed and joint hopes for an end to the schism before the millennial anniversary of its traditional beginning in 1054.
Talks are challenged due to the fragmented nature of the Orthodox churches, but as Pope Francis and Church diplomats continue negotiations, the Russian and Eastern Orthodox negotiators in attendance have produced, alongside a general willingness to reunite, a list of preconditions to be met by Rome before they are willing to submit to Rome.
While it has not yet been released publicly, IIT intelligence agents were able to obtain a copy of this list of demands, outlined below along with our comments and thoughts on each of them:
St. Maximos the Confessor Will Be Officially Declared To Outrank St. Thomas Aquinas: The Orthodox want a formal declaration of this fact alongside mandates that every seminary and Catholic institution of higher study acquire full sets of St. Maximos’ works.
The Filioque in the Creed and Reference to the Pope Will Be Made in the Liturgy, But Intoned at A Whisper: The Orthodox are willing to say the “filioque” and to reference the Pope in the Liturgy, but only if they don’t have to admit publicly that they are saying it. This happens to be the same way that many in the West feel about mentioning the Pope already in the Canon of the Mass, so it’s not much of a bridge to cross for many over here.
All Catholics Must Conform to Orthodox Standards in Fasting: Honestly they might have a point here. Negotiations will probably bring this to compromise middle-ground between current Western and current Orthodox practices.
All New Catholic Churches Must Adopt a Design With a Dome: This one might actually be easy to accomplish as modernist domes became popular in the 1970s. While it would hurt more traditional architecture hard, this seems like its a point that Pope Francis alongside many of the German bishops on the Western negotiating team would easily agree to.
Constantinople Will Be Reconquered and Rebuilt With Western Funds to Amend for the Sacking of 1204: This seems a little harsh. Seriously, that was 800 years ago. But many of us want to recapture Constantinople too, and there are many, many young men all around the world who want to have another Crusade, so maybe a repeat of the sack of Constantinople might make up for the original sacking? It would be a little ironic, however, and I have worries that this could amplify tensions if, for example, today’s wave of crusaders, after conquering it from the heathen in say 2028, and becoming bored in 2031, decide to sack it again.
Western Publishers Will Have No Publishing Rights For Orthodox Liturgical Books: Obviously they don’t want their liturgical books monopolized by the cabal of “Big Liturgy.” This is of course a problem in the West already, so maybe they have a point here that we should take to heart as well. I expect to see the lobbyists for “Big Liturgy” push back hard on this one, as they’ve only been supporting ecumenism for the profits they think they can make off of the far higher number of liturgical books required in the East.
Palamism Will Replace All Charismatic Renewal Movements: It would be at least a small improvement. What I fear is that too little will actually change even if this did happen. Palamism is already kind of their version of “Charismatic Renewal.”
Orthodox Will Be Allowed to Continue to Call Themselves Orthodox: This one seems odd. What does unity even mean, anyway?
For All Dates on Which Liturgical Calendars Differ, the West Will Standardize on the Practice of the East1: Another liturgical calendar reform mandated barely half-a century after the last one? I don’t see this one going over well.
Orthodox Churches Will Allow Statues, But Only on a One-for-One Basis Proportional to Western Introduction of Icons: This sounds like hostage negotiations. I expect tallies to be kept religiously, and very much not in a spirit of Charity.
The Rosary Must Be Modified and Merged into the Orthodoxy’s 150 Angelic Salutations: That’s pretty hardline. How do they think they’ll be able to mandate this? That’s what I’m wondering.
Orthodox Recognition of Papal Primacy Can Remain Purely Theoretical Rather Than Practical: In a sense nothing has changed here from the last millennia of “theoretical” recognition of primacy rather than “practical.”
Benedictines Will Be Required to Introduce the Jesus Prayer Into the Divine Office: Nothing especially wrong with this, but it does seem like we’re getting into minutia here.
Dominicans Will Be Required to Study St. Maximos, St. Gregory Palamas, and St. John of Damascus: Don’t they study much of this already?
Jesuits Will Be “Re-Educated” on Mt. Athos: Unfortunately, I don’t disagree that much with this.
We have not obtained a similar list yet of Catholic negotiating demands for what Orthodox reunion with Rome would look like. We’ll share that with you when we manage to spy it out, but it certainly does seem like the Orthodox are trying to drive a hard bargain in which they submit in very little yet make large demands upon the West.
We pray for unity, yet there seem to be very large gaps to be bridged before that’s accomplished if this list is any good sign of the current state of affairs.
Check out Part II, the unfinished draft Catholic response here:
The Orthodox want them to remain excommunicated, but Old-Calendrists and Old-Believers may be allowed to continue as a “personal prelature” depending on how the Pope is feeling at the moment.
Brilliant satire
I'm all about #15