Russian Orthodox archbishop offers liturgy in catacombs, rues liberal Protestantism

September 21, 2009

Archbishop Hilarion of Volokolamsk, the leading Russian Orthodox ecumenical official, celebrate the Divine Liturgy in the catacombs and rued divisions among Christians, including the Protestant abandonment of fundamental principles. “We should clearly understand, that division is sin, tearing apart body of Church and weakening the power of Christian witness in secular world,” he said.

In doing so, Archbishop Hilarion returned to a theme he emphasized in his recent meeting with Pope Benedict, in which he noted the similarity between Catholic and Orthodox teaching on marriage and family life, as opposed to “Protestant communities which had pursued the liberalization of the Christian teaching,” in the words of the Russian news service Interfax.

 

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Further information:

• Archbishop Hilarion urges to overcome disputes Orthodox and Catholics had for thousand years (Interfax)
• Archbishop Hilarion shares with Pope his concern about Orthodox dioceses in Ukraine destroyed by the Uniates (Interfax)
• Vatican official sees huge strides in relation with Russian Orthodox (CWN, Sept 18)