An Ecumenical Jack-knife

This doesn't sound good. The Moscow Times reports that the Russian Orthodox "Patriarch Slams Church's Move to Kiev." The Patriarch may now refuse to meet Pope Benedict XVI any time soon. Differences of theology and authority dating back to 1596 can complicate any relationship. Particularly the relationship of the Church's lungs! Witness the debris:

Russian Orthodox Patriarch Alexy II on Tuesday condemned the recent transfer of the Ukrainian Eastern Rite Catholic Church's headquarters to Kiev and suggested that a meeting with the pope was less likely than ever.

Eastern Rite Catholicism, or Uniatism, stands midway between Roman Catholicism and Orthodoxy, recognizing the leadership of the pope but retaining Eastern liturgical and theological traditions. Formally created during the Council of Brest in 1596, the activity of the Uniate Church has long been sore point for the Orthodox church hierarchy.

In a strongly worded statement, the patriarch decried the move of the church from Lviv as part of a Catholic "policy of proselytism" and alluded to longstanding Orthodox charges that Uniatism was a centuries-old Roman strategy to lure Orthodox believers to Catholicism.

"Of course, such an evolution of events could not fail to complicate our relationship" with the Uniate and Roman Catholic churches, he said in an interview published on the Russian Orthodox Church's web site.

"I would note that neither from a historical point of view nor from the point of view of church rules and canons can these actions be justified," he said. "From the first years of its existence, [Kiev] has been one of the spiritual capitals of the Russian Orthodox Church."

What a mess!

How much of this also stems from the Ukraine's recent declaration of independence from Russia--through the Orange Revolution against Russian-backed Viktor Yanukovych? Orthodoxy has a long history of aquiescence to the secular leadership of the polity. Russia's displeasure with what they perceive as "Western interference" may exacerbate tensions between the Russian Orthodox and Roman Catholic Church. Especially given the historic tensions over the Eastern Catholic Churches.

Will this scuttle Pope Benedict XVI's chances to fulfill JPG's dream of unifying the Latin and Orthodox Catholic Rites? Stay tuned!