A Child's Prayer for Kosovo

A Child's Prayer for Kosovo Compiled by Archimandrite Nektarios Serfes Boise, Idaho, USA

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Dear God, I live in Kosovo. I guess You already know that… This is a beautiful land. But I guess You know that, too, since it was You Who made it so beautiful… I want to thank You for creating this place to be my home. I wouldn't want to live anywhere else! I love to play with my friends in the hills near my house. We all go together to the school near-by.

Thank You for my childhood, God. It is wonderful to be a child who can play and learn and grow with other children. My parents say childhood should be a time of joy and discovery, a time of innocence and freedom from all the things grown-ups have to worry about, a time to learn who you are and who you will grow up to be, God willing.

Dear God, Some of the grown-ups in this beautiful land of Kosovo have done things to my family, to my village, to my neighbors and friends that now make it hard to play, hard to go to school, even hard to keep living here. They took away my father's job so now we have no money to buy food or new shoes or coats. The weather is getting cold and we can't even afford firewood. God, bless those monks from the De?ani monastery who bring us a little food from time to time and money they get from America to buy wood. Bless those people in America who send us money.

Dear God, Most of my friends have moved away and I am lonely. Our village that used to be a happy place, full of people who always smiled and said 'hello' to me and sometimes brought me sweets when they came to visit; our village that was neat and tidy, where the people were cheerful-- now is almost deserted. The people who used to live here are gone and I have few friends left. There is not much playing any more.

Some angry people came and burned down the neighbor's house so that whole family had to move away. I lost my best friend when that family moved away. My big sister cried for weeks; I thought she'd never stop. I asked my parents why was she so sad. They told me it was because she wouldn't be able to see my best friend's older brother any more…

Dear God, My parents say that a long time ago, You came down in Person to live with us and to teach us to love each other. But now my parents tell me to be careful not to even talk too much to the neighbors because a lot of them don't love us. Why is this? Was it something I said? Something I did? I don't remember doing anything to anyone that would make them hate my whole family! But I'm sure sorry for it, if I did!

Thank You for not allowing our house to be burned down, too. Please protect my best friend's family, wherever they live now. Please protect the school where I still go whenever I can, even though sometimes people throw rocks at the school bus. Some of those rocks used to be in the walls of our church, where my family went every Sunday to talk toYou, God! Why did they tear down the church? God, why do You let people do things like that? Wasn't that Your house? I will build another house for You someday, God, if I can.

And please, if it's not too much trouble, help us to get some more food because I'm hungry almost all the time. And I'm starting to get cold, too. If You can, make those angry people less angry so they'll stop trying to burn down our houses and make us move. Best friends shouldn't have to say 'good-by.'

Amen.

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Most Holy Theotokos, Save Us!

Rejoice, O Queen of All, who dost heal our infirmities by Thy grace Holy St. Nektarios, pray to God for us! GLORY BE TO GOD FOR ALL THINGS!

Second Sunday of Great Lent---march 9

Second Sunday of Great Lent MATINS (X) John 21:1-14 After these things Jesus shewed himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tiberias; and on this wise shewed he himself. There were together Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two other of his disciples. Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing. But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus. Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They answered him, No. And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes. Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher's coat unto him, (for he was naked,) and did cast himself into the sea. And the other disciples came in a little ship; (for they were not far from land, but as it were two hundred cubits,) dragging the net with fishes. As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread. Jesus saith unto them, Bring of the fish which ye have now caught. Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land full of great fishes, an hundred and fifty and three: and for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken. Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine. And none of the disciples durst ask him, Who art thou? knowing that it was the Lord. Jesus then cometh, and taketh bread, and giveth them, and fish likewise. This is now the third time that Jesus shewed himself to his disciples, after that he was risen from the dead. LITURGY Hebrews 1:10-2:3 And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands: They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment; And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail. But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool? Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation? Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward; How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; Mark 2:1-12 And again he entered into Capernaum after some days; and it was noised that he was in the house. And straightway many were gathered together, insomuch that there was no room to receive them, no, not so much as about the door: and he preached the word unto them. And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four. And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay. When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee. But there was certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts, Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only? And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts? Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house. And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion. Commemoration of St. Gregory Palamas Hebrews 7:26-8:2 For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's: for this he did once, when he offered up himself. For the law maketh men high priests which have infirmity; but the word of the oath, which was since the law, maketh the Son, who is consecrated for evermore. Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man. John 10:9-16 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.

Kosovo, O Kosovo!

For those of you who have known me for a while and have heard my opinions, this is the second time that I must speak out, against the stream, against our current direction. The Kosovo region contains the historic heart of Serbia, for a thousand years. Our supporting the seperatists in Kosovo is and always has been like the French supporting the South in the American Civil War (wherein, by the way, Russia provided unheralded support by blocading France and Spain from intervening in our Civil War, an aside). Furthermore, it destabilizes the world. Russia will not just sit still while we refuse to heed her objections. This is not my opinion, this is the opinion of some of the top foreign policy experts in the US. We should never have become involved in the Kosovo region, and we must, as Christians, move our country away from pre-emptive war, away from nation building, away from supporting the dictator of the month. Metropolitan +SYMEON

Exorcism in the Greek Orthodox Church

Exorcism in the Orthodox Church The Doctrine of Evil To understand the Orthodox view and practice of exorcism, one must know the Orthodox presuppositions of evil and its doctrine of Satan. The patristic evidence points to the fact that the cause of evil in the world is the devil. The devil was created by God as an angel, who was free, and as a free agent chose to oppose the plan of God. That is, the devil is a fallen angel. Satan is not evil by nature, but by will and action. In Satan there is no truth whatsoever; he is absolute falsehood and deception. Satan is not just a negation or deprivation of good, but a positive force with free will that always chooses evil. The devil has the ability to recognize divine power, as in the incident of recognizing Christ as the Son of God (Matt. 4:1-11; Luke 4:1-3). Satan has under his leadership legions and invisible powers, with their own "satanic teachings." The devil and evil spirits know that God exists and recognize true and devoted Christians, but pious Christians discern the plans of the devil. The devil, however, constantly employs every method of deception to enslave man to satanic forces and causes rebellion against God. He is the cause of corruption and disorder, a parasitic power in the world that will ultimately be destroyed by the power of God in the "last days." Because there is no compromise between God and the devil, the struggle will continue until the end. The Orthodox doctrine of God is that He is eternal, uncreated and incorporeal. All other creatures, both visible and invisible, were created by God as free. The power of the devil will ultimately be destroyed by the resurrection of the dead and the renewal of creation. Salvation from all evil will be attained by obedience to God and His plan. This world is a battleground between the acceptance of good and evil. It must be pointed out that the world as the creation of God is not evil. What is evil is the satanic power, destroyed by the power of the cross and the resurrection of Christ. The Orthodox Tradition of Exorcising After examining the doctrine of Satan in the Orthodox Church, it is imperative to proceed to the method of repelling and exorcising the evil powers. In the New Testament, Christ sent out His apostles to heal and to "cast out devils" (Matt. 10:8, Luke 10:17-20). Christ Himself often expels demons from the possessed (Mark 1:23-27; Luke 4:33-35, 9:43; Matt. 10:1; Mark 16:17; Matt. 7:22). The New Testament, however, rejected popular uses of magic incantations and rites to expel the satanic powers from people, because they took advantage of superstitious religiosity (Acts 19:13). In the name of Christ, one is able to cast out demons and to destroy the evil powers (Matt. 10:8). The Fathers of the Church accepted this doctrine and expanded on it. Justin Martyr (Apology 85, 2) says that in the name of Christ, the Son of God who was crucified and rose again, every demon that is exorcised is defeated and submits (Library of the Greek Fathers and Church Writers, Athens: Apostolike Diakonia 1955, Vol. 3, pp. 288-89). The satanic powers are destroyed through the power of the cross and the name of Christ. Objects possessed by demons, when exorcised in the name of the living God, are freed from the possession of evil. The patristic evidence is abundant in the belief in possession and expulsion of the devil by the power of the word of God (Ignatios, Epistles to Philippians 3 and 12; Library of the Greek Fathers and Church Writers, Vol. 2, pp. 333 and 336; Clement of Alexandria, Stromata 4:14; Library, Vol 8, p. 82; Origen, Against Celsus, 6:44; Library, Vol. 10, p. 93). The demonic possession of individuals and even of objects, has been accepted by the Orthodox Church today in the Sacrament of Baptism, in exorcising satanic powers in the case of the evil eye (vaskania), and in exorcising the devil in the case of a possessed person. In the early Church exorcisms were performed by a person especially trained and appointed to pray to drive out evil from those about to be baptized. Since the fourth century the place of the exorcist, as well as other functions and ministries, have been taken over by the priest. The exorcisms are prayers that invoke God to expel evil spirits. The priest prays to expel all evil, the spirit of error, of idolatry, of covetousness, of Iying and every impure act that arises from the teachings of the devil. The renunciation of the devil in baptism is used in every baptism that is performed in the Orthodox Church. Vaskania The exorcism of satanic powers is also performed by the Orthodox Church in other rites, such as that of the evil eye (vaskania). Vaskania is simply a phenomenon that was accepted by primitive people as fact. They believed that certain people have such powerful feelings of jealousy and envy, that when they looked on some beautiful object or individual it brought destruction. Vaskania is recognized by the Church as the jealousy and envy of some people for things they do not possess, such as beauty, youth, courage or any other blessing. The Church essentially rejected Vaskania as contradicting the concept of divine providence. The prayers of the Church to avert the evil eye are, however, a silent recognition of this phenomenon as a morbid feeling of envy. The Church forbids people to go to "readers" or other individuals for use of magical rituals to overcome the evil eye. These readers take advantage of the weakness of superstitious people and destroy them spiritually and financially by playing upon their imagination. There is also a secret rite performed by superstitious people to avert the evil eye, which verges on magic. Though the Church encourages even the laity to pray and exorcise evil, it rejects magical practices and rites. This secret rite is described as follows: "The exorcist (not a priest but an old woman) prepares a vial of olive oil and a small glass of water. She dips a finger in the oil, rubs it in a sign of the Cross on the victim's forehead and lets one drop fall onto the water; she repeats the process, making a cross on the forehead, on the chin and both cheeks. If the devil is indeed present, the four drops of oil in the water join to form the ellipsoid shape of an eye. The ritual then calls for the reading of prayers and repeating the four signs of the Cross; the drops of oil will not join in the water, but will disperse." The possession of individuals by the devil and demonic powers and the cure in the name of Christ is evidenced in the New Testament (Acts 3:2-8, 9:32-42; 20:7-12; Matt. 10:8; Mark 16:17-18). The Church continues in its liturgical rites what Christ enacted in His ministry. The Church recognizes the influence of evil and renounces it in the name of Christ in prayers and fasting. The prayers of exorcism in the early Church were offered by special ministry through the exorcist. This is evidenced from the early prayers that have survived. From the fourth century onwards, the ministry of the exorcist has been fulfilled by the priest. Orthodox Prayers of Exorcism All the Orthodox prayer books include prayers of exorcism used by priests to fight the power of evil. The Orthodox Book of Prayers (Euchologion To Mega) includes three prayers of exorcism by Saint Basil and four by Saint John Chrysostom. They are read "for those who suffer from demonic possessions and every other malady." Through these prayers, the devil is exorcised (renounced) "in the name of God Almighty and the Lord Jesus Christ, and commanded to come out of the victim, who is liberated and redeemed by the eternal God from the energies (powers) of the impure spirits. The great ills that humanity suffers are attributed to the devil and demonic power." From the Orthodox theological point of view, the following can be considered exorcists: Christ is the exorcist par excellence for it is He who won the victory over the power of the devil. Priests in the performance of the holy sacraments and in preaching the word of God follow Christ's example. All Orthodox Christians are exorcists as they struggle against personal sin and social evil. In fact, "the whole Church, past, present and future, has the task of an exorcist to banish sin, evil, injustice, spiritual death, the devil from the life of humanity." Archbishop Iakovos, in a sermon at the Sage Chapel, Cornell University, spoke on exorcism in the following manner: "Both healing and exorcising are ministered through prayers, which spring from faith in God and from love for man.... All the prayers of healing and exorcism, composed by the Fathers of the Church and in use since the third century, begin with the solemn declaration: In Thy Name, O Lord.' " (Exorcism and Exorcists in the Greek Orthodox Tradition, March 10, 1974.) In summary, the four prayers of exorcism by Saint John Chrysostom and the three of Saint Basil ask in the name of God to deliver the possessed from the captivity of the devil. Some can be healed by faith accompanied by fasting and purification. The use of exorcism must be made with discretion and great care. (For details, see G. Papademetriou, "Exorcism and the Greek Orthodox Church," in Exorcism Through the Ages, New York: Philosophical Library, 1974.)

Comments on Cardinal Walter Kasper's interview to "Our Sunday Visitor" magazine

Russian Orthodox Bishop Hilarion of Vienna and Austria comments: I do not share the optimism of Cardinal Walter Kasper concerning the Ravenna document and consider his statement about this document as a «real breakthrough in Orthodox-Catholic dialogue» unjustified premature. First of all, the Russian and the Bulgarian Churches, as well as the Orthodox Church in America were absent in Ravenna. The total membership of these three Orthodox Churches exceeds the membership of all other Orthodox Churches taken together. Consequently, Ravenna document cannot be regarded as an agreement between the Catholics and the Orthodox. As it stands now, it is an agreement between representatives of the Roman Catholic Church and representatives of some, but by no means all Orthodox Churches. Secondly, it is unlikely that the Ravenna statements about the universal primacy will be accepted by the Orthodox conscience, not only in those Churches which were not represented in Ravenna, but also in those that were represented. As Cardinal Kasper appropriately notes, "we need a reception process not only on the level of our hierarchies but also on the level of our faithful." I doubt whether the process of evaluation of the Ravenna document in the Orthodox Churches on the level of both the hierarchy and the faithful will lead to its reception and approval. From Cardinal Kasper's interview it does not follow that as a result of the dialogue the Roman Catholic Church may reconsider its own position on primacy on the universal level. On the contrary, the Cardinal states that in case of the re-establishment of the Eucharistic communion between the Catholics and the Orthodox "a new form of the exercise of the primacy needs to be found for the Orthodox Churches." What kind of "new form" is His Eminence referring to? The one that already exists in those Eastern Churches which are in communion with Rome. The Cardinal reminds us that in the Catholic Church there are already two Codes of Canon Law, one for the Latin rite, and another for the Eastern rite: "according to these Codes of Canon Law, primacy is exercised in a different way in the Latin Church and in the Eastern Churches." In other words, we are once more offered a possibility of accepting a Uniate view of the primacy of the Bishop of Rome. If the "breakthrough" consists in this, then I am afraid such a breakthrough will not inspire the Orthodox, who regard Uniatism as contradicting their ecclesiological self-understanding and as betrayal of Orthodoxy. In Balamand in 1993 both the Catholics and the Orthodox concluded that Uniatism is not a model of church unity. And now 15 years later the Chairman of the Council for Promoting Christian Unity invites the Orthodox to accept the Uniate understanding of the primacy of the Bishop of Rome. I would like to reiterate that good and constructive relations between the Catholics and the Orthodox are crucial for the present and future of Christianity. We need a type of relationship based on the understanding of the fact that we are allies, not adversaries, that we have a common missionary task and face common challenges, to which we can respond together. However, we do not need another Union. We need strategic partnership which will exclude all forms of proselytism. We also need to continue theological dialogue, not in order to transform the Orthodox into Uniates, but in order to clarify the points of disagreement between the Catholic and the Orthodox ecclesiology.

Ravenna Was "Breakthrough" in Orthodox-Catholic Ties

As Seen by Cardinal Walter Kaspar ROME, FEB. 18, 2008 (Zenit.org).- The so-called Ravenna Document is a real breakthrough in Orthodox-Catholic dialogue, says the president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. In an interview with Gerard O'Connell for Our Sunday Visitor, Cardinal Walter Kasper explained what made the breakthrough possible, and what's left in the process of achieving full unity. His comments centered on the concluding document of the Oct. 8-14, 2007, plenary assembly of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue Between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church, held in Ravenna, Italy. "We started the dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Churches as a whole in 1980. The first phase of the dialogue between the 1980s and 90s sought to reaffirm what we have in common: the Eucharist and the other sacraments, episcopacy and priesthood," Cardinal Kasper explained. "Now, we are discussing the canonical and theological consequences; for the first time, we approach the questions: What is the Church? Where is the Church? What are the structures of the Church? "We came to the concept that the Church is realized on three levels: the local level, that is, the diocese with the bishop; the regional level, that is, the metropolitan or patriarchate; and the universal level. And on every level we have a tension between authority -- bishop, patriarch, and the ‘protos,' Greek for primate, that is, ‘the first of the bishops' -- and the principle of synodality, synodal structures." Cardinal Kasper explained that at each level, there is a tension between authority and synodality, "which is essential to the nature of the Church -- "ecclesiologically constitutive" -- and that is already an important point on which to have agreement." But the real breakthrough, he said, was that "the Orthodox agreed to speak about the universal level -- because before there were some who denied that there could even be institutional structures on the universal level. The second point is that we agreed that at the universal level there is a primate. It was clear that there is only one candidate for this post, that is the Bishop of Rome, because according to the old order -- ‘taxis' in Greek -- of the Church of the first millennium the see of Rome is the first among them. "Many problems remain to be resolved, but we have laid a foundation upon which we can build." A Catholic challenge Cardinal Kasper clarified that the foundation reached is a challenge also for the Catholic Church. "Whereas the Orthodox must clarify more deeply the question of ‘primacy, 'protos,' on the universal level, we Catholics have to reflect more clearly on the problem of synodality and conciliarity, especially on the universal level," he said. The prelate continued: "The Ravenna document is only a first step and a basic statement. It quotes the Letter of Ignatius of Antioch to the Romans -- around 100 A.D. -- stating that the community of Rome presides in love. Other early statements concur. When in the first millennium local churches were in difficulty or in distress, they often appealed to Rome. Rome was an instance of appeal, and had therefore already in the first millennium an important role to play. "The Ravenna document mentions this, but when we in Ravenna spoke in detail about it, it became obvious that there are often different interpretations of the same facts. "These differences existed partly already in the first millennium. For instance, the doctrine of primacy was much more developed in the West than in the East. Therefore, it is necessary to study the first millennium in detail, in order to come to a common understanding of the Fathers, both the Western and the Eastern ones. I hope we will find a common view of the first millennium." The pontifical council president clarified that a common view does not mean "a totally unified view." "There can still be a difference in understanding," he affirmed. "For we have to distinguish between differences that are complementary and those that are contradictory. Complementarity existed already in the first millennium. So we have to look if we can transform our contradictions into new, fruitful complementary positions." Cardinal Kasper said the atmosphere in Ravenna was "so positive" that he is hoping to reach such a point of agreement with the Orthodox. "We will not arrive at uniformity, that is not the goal, but we can come to a common view, a common basic understanding; and within this common basic understanding there can be different accents and different emphases. This does not necessarily prevent Church unity. But we must overcome the contradictions of the first millennium." Moving on The president of the pontifical council clarified that a consensus on the first millennium is not enough. "When we have finalized the discussion about the first millennium, then we have to go to the second millennium," he said. The cardinal clarified that in the second millennium there was "a decisive development not only in the Latin Church, but also in the Eastern Churches, a development which till today continues to give reason for the existing schism." He explained: "In the first millennium we had five Patriarchates, now we have 15 Patriarchates and some autonomous Churches. In the West we had the development that led to the First Vatican Council -- 1869-70 -- with the definition of the primacy of jurisdiction and the infallibility of the Pope, a development the Orthodox never accepted. Therefore, we have to discuss how to interpret these different developments on the basis of the first millennium. This will not be an easy discussion; on the contrary, it will be very difficult to reach an agreement about the First and the Second Vatican Councils. "So the next step after the study of the first millennium will be the study of the second millennium, and only when we have finished that discussion will we be able to draw the consequences for the future of our relationship. Only then will the documents be mature enough to be formally submitted to the respective authorities of the Churches." Asked how long he thinks this process will take, the cardinal answered: "Nobody can know exactly. But I think at least one decade! But we should leave this to God's providence and in his hands. We should only keep in mind that this is not just an intellectual and an academic process, but that we have to involve the whole body of our Churches, thus entailing also an emotional process. "We are aware that much resentment, prejudice, and misunderstanding continue to persist, and that all kinds of oppositions and obstacles need to be overcome. Such a change of deep-rooted mentalities takes time; you cannot do it from one day to another. "We need a reception process not only on the level of our hierarchies but also on the level of our faithful. Or to put it in a more spiritual way: Ecumenical rapprochement is not possible without the conversion of hearts. Here everybody has to begin with himself or herself." A guiding light In the extensive interview, Cardinal Kasper gave some hints as to how varying concepts of primacy could be reconciled. "In this context it should be noted that already today we have two forms of exercise of Roman primacy within the Catholic Church," he explained. "We have two Codes of Canon Law: one for the Latin Church, the other for the Eastern Churches which are in full communion with Rome. According to these Codes of Canon Law, primacy is exercised in a different way in the Latin Church and in the Eastern Churches. "So we do not want to impose the system which today is in the Latin Church on the Orthodox Churches. In the case of the restoration of full communion, a new form of the exercise of the primacy needs to be found for the Orthodox Churches. "Already the apostolic constitution enforcing the Eastern Code of Canon Law stated that its regulations were valid only in the intermediate term, that is, until full reconciliation with the Eastern Churches not in full communion. Thus, the model of the exercise of primacy we have in the Eastern Catholic Churches is not necessarily the model for the future reconciliation with the Orthodox Churches. "At this stage, however, it would be premature to speculate on what form the final outcome will take." Roadblocks Asked what is the biggest obstacle in moving forward to unity, Cardinal Kasper affirmed that a "'spirit of possessiveness' is a main obstacle, which can also be seen as lack of willingness to 'metanoia,' that is, to conversion. It is also a lack of love, an unwillingness to open oneself to a partner, to learn from and be enriched by the other, and to share with the other. "This implies purification of memories, to ask for forgiveness and to correct wrong and non-evangelical attitudes of the past. Pope John Paul II often affirmed that there cannot be ecumenism without the conversion of hearts. The same Pope defined the ecumenical dialogue as the sharing of gifts. All this is a spiritual problem and a spiritual task, which can be done only in the power of the Holy Spirit." It's because of this that spiritual ecumenism is so important, the cardinal said. "According to the Second Vatican Council spiritual ecumenism is the heart of ecumenism," Cardinal Kasper affirmed. "This means: personal conversion of the heart, sanctification of life, of shared Bible study and above all of prayer. We as weak human beings cannot ‘make' or organize the unity of the Church; unity is a gift of the Spirit. We have to pray for the Spirit to make ours the prayer of Jesus on the eve of his suffering and death 'that all may be one.' "Spiritual ecumenism is also an ecumenism that is not reduced to academic circles and academic dialogue or to a kind of Church diplomacy. All this is important, but it is too far away from the basis of the Church. In spiritual ecumenism everybody can participate. This is important for the reception of the ecumenical documents, because without reception in the body of the Church they remain just pieces of paper." + + + + + + + + + + + + Vladika Ioan of Denver responds: Once more the Greek Church is moving "forward" on something that all of the Orthodox Christians cannot accept (and even most Greek Orthodox will not accept) --- union with the Bishop of Rome. I will not assent to union with the Bishop of Rome unless he and the whole of the Roman hierarchy repent for their heretical theology, change their culture of guilt and sin, and completely revise their theology to be one of Original Blessing as opposed to their heretical view of original sin, and completely drop their guilt-ridden, homophobic and legalistic structure....not likely in my lifetime or yours....