Newman Center hosts inter-church discussion

A unique dialogue between two bishops -- one Roman Catholic and the other Greek Orthodox -- on Thursday night brought more than 50 area residents to the Newman Center's library for a discussion on the unification of Christian churches. The discussion, entitled "One faith and one baptism? A Hierarchical Dialogue on Eastern Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism in the Next Millennium," was part of the Orthodox Christian Fellowship's Distinguished Guest Lecture Series. It featured Metropolitan Maximos, Pittsburgh's Greek Orthodox Bishop, and Auxiliary Roman Catholic Bishop of Philadelphia Joseph Martino. Maximos also co-chairs the Official Orthodox/Roman Catholic Bilateral Dialogue in the United States. To begin the discussion, both guests gave their views on the movements to unite various Christian denominations and the similarities between the Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches. Maximos emphasized that the majority of the teachings of the two churches can be reconciled. As for the differences that do exist, "these problems are there to be overcome, to be resolved. That's our challenge," he said. Though he later pointed out that "we cannot harmonize what cannot be harmonized," he did say that Roman Catholics and Orthodox Christians share "one same basic faith." Martino then took the floor, pointing out certain similarities between the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches. "Our understanding of the role of the father, son and holy spirit is very, very close," he said. Both guests then took questions. Responding to one query concerning the role of missionaries, Martino recalled working with a Congolese member of a Christian sect. With so many Christian denominations presenting varied religious ideas, Martino said, the Congolese may wonder if "the faith of Christ is divided." Both guests said they were pleased with the discussions. Maximos said he was glad to see that Martino "cares very much about the rapprochement" of the Christian churches. Maximos added, however, that he wishes there had been more dialogue, and hopes that the evening's discussion will be followed by more meetings. Alexander Webster, Penn's Eastern Orthodox Chaplain, added that the discussion is just the beginning of a long-term dialogue. "I think it's a great start," said Wharton senior Peter Margetis, president of the OCF. Though many in attendance were community members, Margetis said that the participants were "all students here tonight." Clio Alexiades, a 1988 Wharton graduate who spent time searching for other Orthodox students on campus during her years at Penn, added, "I think it's wonderful that there was such a great turnout." And for Social Welfare Doctoral student Nate Prentice, "Ecumenism," which involves the efforts toward unity for the different churches, "is a very important thing to me in my personal life." Prentice, who converted from Protestantism to Roman Catholicism, added that "there's a lot more that we can do as separate churches to work toward finding a happy medium."

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