Vienna, Oct. 18, 2007 (CWNews.com) - A Russian Orthodox bishop said that talks between Catholic and Orthodox theologians cannot be productive if the Moscow patriarchate is not involved.
Bishop Hilarion of Vienna told the NG-Religii newspaper that the meeting of Catholic and Orthodox theologians in Ravenna, Italy last week could be regarded as a step forward in ecumenical affairs, since the Russian Orthodox delegation walked out of the meeting to protest the inclusion of representatives from the Estonian Orthodox Church. (The Moscow patriarchate refuses to recognize the Estonian Church, putting the Russian Orthodox Church at odds with the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople on that question.)
Because the Russian Orthodox Church is by far the largest of the world's Orthodox groups, the absence of the Moscow patriarchate from the talks in Ravenna "casts doubt over the legitimacy of the Catholic-Orthodox dialogue," Bishop Hilarion said.