The Balamand Agreement
The
Balamand Agreement was signed by representatives of the following Orthodox churches:
the Patriarchate of Constantinople, the Patriarchate of Alexandria, the
Patriarchate of Antioch, the Church of Russia, the Church of Romania,
the Church of Cyprus, the Church of Poland, the Church of Albania, and
the Church of Finland. The Executive Secretary was His Eminence Metropolitan
Spyridon of Italy (now Archbishop of America). The Patriarchate of Jerusalem,
and the Churches of Georgia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece, and Czechoslovakia
were not represented.
The Balamand Union:
A Victory of Vatican Diplomacy. A critique of the Balamand Agreement.
The Three "Pillars of Orthodoxy"
St. Gregory Palamas, St. Photios the Great, St. Mark of Ephesus
For more on these great saints read The Lives of the Pillars of Orthodoxy (Buena Vista,
CO: Holy Apostles Convent and the Dormition Skete, 1990).
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Balamand Explained:
the defense of the Balamand Agreement by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese
on their official website. Archbishop Spyridon (then, of Italy) was the
Orthodox Joint-Secretary for the Balamand Agreement. Unfortunately, when
Frank Schaeffer interviewed him the issues
of ecumenism and our involvement in the WCC were only skirted. At one
point His Eminence said: "I think that in matters of faithand
faith is something fundamental to the Churchthere cannot be any
concessions! We cant make concessions!" This is interesting
given his participation in the formation of the Balamand Agreement as
well as the defense of it on the GOA website.
"Balamand Explained":
First Betrayal, Now Deception: A critique of the GOA Defense
of Balamand, by Bishop Auxentios of Photiki
Papism, the Hagiorite Fathers, and the Aftermath
of the "Balamand Union":
translated from the Greek by Patrick Barker for Orthodox Tradition.
Letter to the Patriarch of Constantinople, from the Sacred Community of Mount Athos. Concerning the Balamand
Agreement (1994).
Orthodox and Vatican Agreement:
A critique by Fr. John Romanides. The author was kind enough to
send this to me and allow its publication on my site.
 On the one hand, we have the recent Balamand Agreement, an astonishing
document in which there seems little doubt that the Orthodox signatories did indeed give
some kind of official recognition to Rome as a "Sister Church." This, however, was not
quite as new as it first appeared: the idea that Orthodoxy and Rome are "Sister Churches"
has been around, in one form or another, for some time. It has its theological origins
in the 19th century Church of England [2] and has been at the heart of the Ecumenical Movement
for some decades now. Consistent with this teaching, the late Patriarch Demetrios of
Constantinople asserted (in 1974) that the Bishop of Rome, the Pope, was now restored to
his ancient primacy of "love and honor . . . in the pentarchy of the One, Holy, Catholic
and Apostolic Church." [3] Similarly, last year the present Patriarch, Bartholomew,
publicly hailed Pope John Paul II as a "brother Patriarch" and, using the Pope's own
imagery, spoke of Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism as "the two lungs of the Body of Christ."
This, Bartholomew proclaimed, is a fundamental ecclesiological truth"! [4]
On the other hand, publication of the Balamand Agreement was met with
undisguised criticism—not only on the part of Orthodox traditionalists, but even among
hierarchs and clergy belonging to those Churches which were signatories to the Agreement;
some of these were frankly appalled, even embarrassed. Bishop Antoun (Antiochian Archdiocese)
told this writer, in outraged tones, that this Agreement "is of no effect," that it
is "nothing," that it has in fact been given "no authority," and should be viewed as
if it had never happened. This, in spite of the fact the Agreement was signed by official
representatives or delegates of nine Orthodox Churches, including the Patriarchates of
Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Moscow, and Romania!
Today's Ecumenism...and
the "Still, Small Voice", by Priest Alexey [now
Hieromonk Ambrose] Young,
Orthodox America, No. 132. See original article for footnotes.
"Too
many of us lack a sufficiently developed Orthodox consciousness to be
aware of this 'screaming conflict' [between traditional Orthodox ecclesiology
and the ecumenist 'Branch Theory']. Not only is the development of such
a consciousness greatly hindered by the dogmatic relativism saturating
our society, but our natural longing for peace and harmony and the many
appeals to Christian love and brotherhood have made us vulnerable to ecumenical
'sweet talk.' An inadequate knowledge of Church history and a weak understanding
of Orthodox ecclesiology put us further at risk. We cannot afford to be
naive. These are dangerous times, and we would be wise to arm ourselves
with some sobering lessons from historyand the art of Vatican diplomacy."
"Be Not Deceived...," Orthodox America, Vol. XIV, No. 8 (132),
p. 12. For an excellent introduction to these issues see: Ivan Ostroumoff's
The History of the Council of Florence (Boston, MA: Holy Transfiguration
Monastery, 1971).
In a joint communique, signed on June 29, 1995, Pope John Paul II and Patriarch
Bartholomew expressed their acceptance of the Balamand principles. Their
communique includes the following statement: "The Joint Commission
[which met at Balamand] was able to proclaim that our Churches are recognized
mutually as Sister Churches, responsible together for the preservation
of the One Church of God."
From the official publication of the cumenical Patriarchate,
"Episkepsis," No. 520, July 31, 1995, p. 19
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