Beyond the East-West Divide - The World Council of Churches and the Orthodox Problem
Orthodox participation in the World Council of Churches has always been a paradox -- enthusiastically committed and yet plagued by complaints. This situation has lately reached crisis proportions: two Orthodox churches have withdrawn their membership; more threaten to follow. Is this an 'Orthodox problem'? Or is there something fundamentally wrong with the ecumenical machinery? In this book, two theologians -- one an Orthodox and one a Lutheran -- engage in an extended dialogue to illumine some of the issues and possible ways forward. The issues they discuss fall squarely within the agenda of the Special Commission on Orthodox Participation in the WCC, which was created in Harare in 1998.