Page 22 - AECA.org.uk ¦ Koinonia 67

20. The prospects for conducting theological dialogues between the Orthodox
Church and the rest of the Christian world are always determined on the basis
of the canonical principles of Orthodox ecclesiology and the canonical criteria
of the already established Church Tradition (Canon 7 of the Second
Ecumenical Council and Canon 95 of the Quinisext Ecumenical Council).
21. The Orthodox Church wishes to support the work of the Commission on
“Faith and Order” and follows its theological contribution with particular
interest to this day. It views favorably the Commission’s theological documents,
which were developed with the significant participation of Orthodox
theologians and represent a praiseworthy step in the Ecumenical Movement
for the rapprochement of Christians. Nonetheless, the Orthodox Church
maintains reservations concerning paramount issues of faith and order, because
the non-Orthodox Churches and Confessions have diverged from the true
faith of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.
22. The Orthodox Church considers all efforts to break the unity of the
Church, undertaken by individuals or groups under the pretext of maintaining
or allegedly defending true Orthodoxy, as being worthy of condemnation. As
evidenced throughout the life of the Orthodox Church, the preservation of the
true Orthodox faith is ensured only through the conciliar system, which has
always represented the highest authority in the Church on matters of faith and
canonical decrees. (Canon 6 2nd Ecumenical Council)

23. The Orthodox Church has a common awareness of the necessity for
conducting inter-Christian theological dialogue. It therefore believes that this
dialogue should always be accompanied by witness to the world through acts
expressing mutual understanding and love, which express the “ineffable joy” of
the Gospel (1 Pt 1:8), eschewing every act of proselytism, uniatism, or other
provocative act of inter-confessional competition. In this spirit, the Orthodox
Church deems it important for all Christians, inspired by common
fundamental principles of the Gospel, to attempt to offer with eagerness and
solidarity a response to the thorny problems of the contemporary world, based
on the prototype of the new man in Christ.
24.The Orthodox Church is aware that the movement to restore Christian
unity is taking on new forms in order to respond to new circumstances and to
address the new challenges of today’s world. The continued witness of the
Orthodox Church to the divided Christian world on the basis of the apostolic
tradition and faith is imperative.

20