Catholicos Aram KESHISHIAN
( n. 1947 )

ARAM I

Content

• Introductory Remarks
• The Message of the 1700 Anniversary
• Towards a Renewed Armenian Church
• The Holy Muron: A Source of Spiritual Renewal
• The Witness of the Armenian Church in the Middle East
• From Celebration to Engagement
• For a Spirituality of Our Times
• Beyond the 1700th Anniversary

This volume contains a glossary of my ecumenical and theological reflections. The nature, the form and the scope of these reflections are strictly determined by the context in which they were presented. In bringing them together I have made only minor modifications and a few additions in the footnotes. The papers collected in Parts I and II are lectures or talks given on different occasions. Part III consists of my reports to the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches (WCC). They are referred to in the WCC as "The Report of Moderator" and are presented to each meeting of the Central Committee. I have deleted those parts of these reports that deal mainly with the current programmatic activities of the WCC. Some of the articles have been previously published in ecumenical and theological periodicals; the reports have appeared in their entirety in The Ecumenical Review.
These reflections cover the period from the 7th Assembly (January 1991, Canberra, Australia) to the 8th Assembly (November-December 1999, Harare, Zimbabwe) of the WCC. Although they largely highlight the emerging ecumenical trends, challenges and concerns of this period, they are essentially a continuous and strenuous search for ecumenical vision. Therefore this book raises fundamental ecumenical questions that I believe the ecumenical movement and the churches are called to wrestle with in the coming years.
These pages have been written with the following convictions: 1) the ecumenical movement should go beyond its institutional forms and reaffirm its freedom and identity as a movement of the Holy Spirit; 2) the ecumenical movement must be re-owned by the churches through a process of deeper involvement and full appropriation of its goals; 3) the ecumenical movement must become inclusive in all its aspects and manifestations, touching the very reality of the church as people of God and the life of societies; 4) the ecumenical vision must be translated into a firm commitment to common witness and to the visible unity of the church.
The views and convictions outlined on these pages have emerged out of my intellectual and spiritual interaction with others. They have grown out of my living encounter with, and existential experiences in the ecumenical movement. In the ecumenical movement, one's ideas are matured, perspectives are broadened and convictions are deepened. This is, indeed, the particularity of the ecumenical movement, which rejects isolation and promotes interaction. It is precisely through creative interaction that mutual understanding is shaped, confidence is built, a common perspective is arrived at, a common vision is articulated and a common action is affirmed. Ecumenism is not only a common search for vision and a common effort for visible unity, it is also a challenge in the power of the Holy Spirit for common witness in faithful obedience to the Gospel. This is what I have learned and experienced in the world-wide ecumenical movement. This book is the fruit of that learning and experience.
I would like to express my thanks to all ecumenical friends, colleagues and partners who, in one way or another, challenged me to offer these reflections and perspectives, which arise from our common ecumenical journey. I want to thank particularly the former General Secretary of the WCC, Dr. Emilio Castro, and the present General Secretary, Dr. Konrad Raiser, with whom I have had, as Moderator, an enriching partnership in the last ten years. I should say a special word of thanks to Dr. Joe Pirri and Ms. Teny Pirri-Simonian, who carefully read the manuscript and made a number of critical observations and editorial suggestions. My special thanks are also due to Dr. Anna Marie Aagaard, a former president of the WCC, who has written a Foreword to this volume.

ARAM I, CATHOLICOS OF CILICIA
15 April 2000,
Antelias, Lebanon

This book is neither an exposition of formal Orthodox views and positions nor a substantial Orthodox contribution to the ecumenical discussion. It is simply an attempt of limited scope to look from an Orthodox perspective at some of the ecumenical themes and concerns which have acquired predominance, particularly during the last decade, in the life, thought and work of the World Council of Churches, and in the ecumenical movement at large. The papers included in this volume can be divided into six main groups:
1. The first three papers, namely Justice, Peace and Creation, a Biblical Approach, Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation in a Eucharistic Perspective and Human beings in Creation deal, from different angles, with an important ecumenical process of reflection and action that came to be known as 'Justice, peace and the integrity of creation' (JPIC). Launched by the sixth assembly of the World Council of Churches (Vancouver, 1983), this process with its theological, ecological and socio-political dimensions and implications became, and continues to be, a major ecumenical priority both within and outside the constituency of the WCC.
2. The second group which includes 'Come, Holy Spirit, Renew the Whole Creation', and The Holy Spirit in Orthodox Pneumatology, is a contribution to the theme of the seventh assembly of the WCC (Canberra, 1991) made in the context of the assembly preparatory process. The Holy Spirit-centred theme of the Canberra assembly remains a point of reference for ecumenical reflection, and a signpost for ecumenical vision.
3. The two following essays, The First Vatican Council and the Petrine Office, and A Critical Assessment of Four Pro Oriente Consultations discuss issues pertaining to Christology, primacy and conciliarity. These topics have again been moved to the fore of ecumenical debate, particularly in the context of bilateral dialogues.
4. The paper on Unity and Mission in the Context of the Middle East mainly deals with the inter-connectedness of unity and mission. Again, this is an old ecumenical debate that continues to get sharper focus from time to time in different regions and ecumenical situations.
5. From Participation to Partnership outlines, succinctly, the peculiar aspects of Orthodox witness in the ecumenical movement in general, and the WCC in particular. The contribution of Orthodoxy to ecumenism has always been a permanent concern for the Orthodox churches. The emergence of new ecumenical realities and tendencies has made them reassess the nature of their witness and the scope of their participation in the ecumenical movement.
6. The last article, namely Towards a Self-Understanding of the World Council of Churches, tackles some of the issues related to the common understanding of the nature and vocation of the WCC. This is a reflection process that was initiated some years ago by the Central Committee of the council. It will certainly become one of the pivotal concerns of the WCC in the years ahead.
While reading this book, it is important to bear certain points in mind. First, the papers collected under this cover are not scholarly presentations nor exhaustive accounts. They were prepared as lectures under special circumstances and for specific purposes. Hence, they are conditioned in terms of scope, approach and style. Secondly, the issues and themes wrestled with on the pages to follow are not of an academic nature, and are not treated as such. They are, as I have already pointed out, crucial issues that the Churches have been, in one way or another, grappling with in bilateral and multilateral theological dialogues as well as in their actual life and witness on local, regional and global levels. Most of the papers that appear in this book have already been published in different theological and ecumenical periodicals and reviews. In bringing them together I have made only a few editorial changes of minor importance.
The views and perspectives outlined on these pages are conveyed by someone who is called to serve the church of God in the Middle East, a region which, with its religious, cultural, social and political pluralism and tensions, provides a real challenge to Christian witness. The concerns and challenges displayed in this volume come from someone who is deeply rooted in his Oriental Orthodox tradition yet, at the same time, is open to other traditions, and strongly believes in dialogue among traditions. The ecumenical movement does not only promote dialogue and co-operation among the churches. It also makes them consciously aware of their dynamic interrelatedness in spite of their profound divisions. This book is a humble testimony to that creative and growing interrelatedness that I have learned and experienced in the ecumenical fellowship.
Before I conclude this introductory note, I would like to express my thanks to Dr Walter Arnold, a colleague in the Central Committee of the WCC who has written a foreword to this volume. I should say also a special word of thanks to the Oxford Centre for Mission Studies for publishing this book in its Regnum Books series.

Aram Keshishian, Beirut, Lebanon January 1992