Church Documents

Pre-Schism | Orthodox | Catholic | Joint Documents

Pre-Schism

Web Archive: The Ecole Initiative a "hypertext encyclopedia of early church history." Enormous collection of documents. See, for example, their assembly of church councils.

Orthodox

Web Archive: Patriarchal and Synodical Encyclical of 1920 . Affirms that rapprochement is allowed, despite doctrinal differences.

Letter to the Patriarch of Constantinople from the Sacred Community of Mount Athos. On Balamand (Orthodox Christian Information Center).

Web Archive: The Orthodox Church and the Ecumenical Movement: Section III of the report of the Third Panorthodox Preconciliar Conference, Chambesy, 1986.

Web Archive: Statement on the Relationship of the Orthodox Church to the World Council of Churches by the Orthodox Theological Society in America. Pro-ecumenical.

Web Archive: The Patriarchal Encyclical of 1895. A Reply to the Papal Encyclical of Pope Leo XIII (1895) on Reunion (Orthodox Christian Information Center).

Web Archive: Encyclical of the Eastern Patriarchs, 1848. A Reply to the Epistle of Pope Pius IX, "to the Easterns" (Orthodox Christian Information Center). Also here.

Russian Orthodoxy, the "1997 Synodal Theological Commission of the Russian." Long, dense, procedural text.

Catholic

Pope John Paul II's writing and speeches, together with a biography and other such material are available from the Vatican website.

"Persevere in Quest for Unity." Pope John Paul II to His Holiness Bartholomew I Archbishop of Constantinople, Ecumenical Patriarch. (11/26/96)

Web Archive: Orientale Lumen ("Light from the East"). Oft-cited Apostolic letter on Orthodox contributions to Christian spirituality. From the Vatican.

Web Archive: Ut unum sint ("That they may be one"). Papal Encyclical "On Commitment to Ecumenism" (5/25/95). Vatican Website. Also here.

Web Archive: "Christi Nomen": On Propagation of the Faith and Eastern Churches. Encyclical by Pope Leo XIII (1895), from the Vatican website. Also here.

Web Archive: The 350th anniversary of the Union of Uzhhorod, Apostolic Letter by Pope John Paul II. (5/18/96). Courtesy Vatican website or here).

Web Archive: For the Fourth Centenary of the Union of Brest, apostolic letter by Pope John Paul II (11/12/95). Courtesy Vatican website or here.

Web Archive: Letter to European Bishops On the Recent Changes In Central and Eastern Europe, papal letter from the Vatican website (5/31/95)

"Unitatis Redintegratio," Decree on Ecumenism, Vatican II.

Web Archive: Slavorum Apostoli ("The Apostles of the Slavs"). Papal Encyclical on 1000th anniversary of mission of Ss. Cyril and Methodius. Vatican Website. (5/25/95)

Web Archive: "A Concilio Constantinopolitano I" Apostolic letter on the 1600th anniversary of the First Council of Constantinople (AD 381).

Web Archive: Address of the Holy Father to the Bulgarian Federation, commemorating Ss. Cyril and Methodius. Vatican Website (5/22/00). See also Address to Delegation from the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, delivered on the same day.

Joint Documents

Web Archive: Text of December 7, 1965 joint declaration removing the reciprocal excommunication of 1054.

The Balamand Statement. Complete text.

Speeches delivered by Pope John Paul II and Metropolitan John of Pergamon's, head of the Orthodox delegation sent to commemorate the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, June 29, 1998.

Baptism and "Sacramental Economy": An Agreed Statement of The North American Orthodox-Catholic Theological Consultation, June 1993.

Communique produced by ecumenical talks between Ukrainian Churches, July 4 1998.