Informal Layman’s Response to the Publication of the Book The Church — Towards a Common Vision

Abstract

The document The Church — Towards a Common Vision (TCTCV) of the Commission for Faith and Order within the World Council of Churches was published in Serbian, as a book, co-published by the Christian Cultural Center “Dr. Radovan Bigović,” Institute for Systematic Theology of the Faculty of Orthodox Theology at the University of Belgrade and Biblical Cultural Center, 2020, at the height of the coronavirus pandemic. Both the TCTCV book and the pandemic represent a spiritual and existential challenge. They provoke reception, reflection. Therefore, it is necessary to capture the contemporary context and meaning of publishing and researching literature dedicated to the topic of ecumenism in our Church. It is also expedient to look at history and significance of ecumenism as a general mission of the Church. The notable ecclesiocentricity of the book TCTCV can arouse our greater interest in orthodox and ecumenical ecclesiology, their comparative research, as well as in re-examining our own role and invocation in the ecumenical movement. Through statistical, epistemological, and contextual analysis of the concepts of the text of the book, we noticed some specifics and possibilities of encouragement for inclusive lay, consultative-democratic, and political-theological approaches in ecumenism. The grace of reading the book TCTCV is manifested, among other things, through arousing contemplation over the mystery of the Church, unity, communion. This secret could be explored mentally and spiritually, through a personal relationship, together, based on the experience of participating in a concreate community of the Church. The axiom about the Church as a community is at the heart of the content of this book, as well as the universal call to the Christ-loving hearts of many to use the book as an instrument for mutual acquaintance, rapprochement, and striving for a common, Eucharistic understanding of the Church and universal Christian unity. In general, this was the vision of Bishop Nicholai Velimirovich while participating in the ecumenical movement and infusing in it his own orthodox experience of the Church. It was also very impactful on prof. Dr. Radovan Bigović, who further elaborated modern ecumenical attitudes, clear and solid guidelines for our contemporary orthodox ecumenical orientation. Both of them, bishop Nicholai and Dr. Bigović are ecumenical and inclusive (unifying) persons and as such our encouraging paragons for ecumenical mission and above all ecumenical love. Relied on them and other ecumenical theologians we are gifted with an opportunity to get involved and to continue building our ecumenical tradition in which publishing plays a significant role.