Ecumenic dialogue

THE ORDER OF FRIARS MINOR CONVENTUAL

manual III/ V

Manual on Justice, Peace and the Care of Creation by the General Secretariat for

Ecumenical and Interreligious Dialogue

Pro manuscripto

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International Franciscan Center for Dialogue

Assisi

THE ORDER OF FRIARS MINOR CONVENTUAL

Ecumenic dialogue

Manual III/ V

Authors of the Manual:

fr. Silvestro Bejan, ofm.conv.

prof.ssa annarita Caponera

q 2011 r

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contents

Presentation

introduction

Iniziare il dialogo è una questione di fiducia

First Part

soMe FundaMentaLs For a Franciscan sPirituaLitY

in ecuMenicaL diaLoGue

Premise1. The experience of God and the ecumenical dialogue

2. Faithfulness, coherence and identity3. Fraternity, a sign of unity

4. To be small and minor5. Dialogue of life6. Peace and unity

7. To do one’s share8. Prayer

second Part

tHe diaLoGue WitH ortHodoX cHristians

1. Saint Francis of Assisi and the Orthodox Churches2. The conception of the religious life

3. Fools for Christ’s sake4. The prayer of the heart

5. Divinization6. The integration in Christ

7. Seeing God through His creatures8. The love for the Mother of God

9. Analogy with the Orthodox saintsConclusion

tHree Part

diaLoGue WitH tHe cHristians oF tHe reForM

I. The Churches in the Protestant ReformII. Saint Francis and the Christians of the Reformation

And what can a Franciscan friar do?Spread the GospelServe the world

Prayers in honor of Saint Francis writen by Orthodox Christians

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Presentation

“The usual manuals, again?” Hopefully, thesewill deepen the understanding and purposeof those who received the five formativesubsidies on ecumenical and interreligiousdialogue prepared by the Secretariat-Gene-ral for Justice, Peace, Integrity of Creation,ecumenical and Interreligious Dialogue.There are, nonetheless, three explicit rea-sons that these five texts have been develo-ped:1. Our Order has yet to articulate in a con-cise and systematic way these above men-tioned areas-although we have talkedextensively about them. In addition, weneed an historical overview which situatesand clarifies the current challenge of dialo-gue in our own day. 2. This year 2011, marks the 25th anniver-sary of the World Day of Prayer for Peacethat Blessed John Paul II convoked in Assisiin 1986. When John Paul chose Assisi, hevirtually entrusted to the Franciscan friarsthe commitment for ecumenism and inter-religious dialogue: “above all, the Franciscansmust remember this ...”; and more: “... it’s yourturn Franciscans... to respond to the men oftoday”.3. Finally, we feel the need to study issuesof ecumenical and interreligious dialoguein the light of the “spirit of Assisi”. eachperson must take a personal responsibilityto form himself/herself to be the bearer ofthe “spirit of Assisi” towards Christians andbelievers of other religions traditions, aswell as towards non-believers or atheists.The content of the five themes is structuredas follows:the first manual has as its theme to tracethe history of the ecumenical and interreli-gious dialogue of our Order from St. Fran-cis until today (friars protagonists of thedialogue, dialogue centers ...) and collecting

together all the official texts of the Order(documents, decrees, resolutions and decla-rations); to present a decalogue of the dia-logue of the Friar Minor Conventual.the second manual has as its theme “thespirit of Assisi”. “Anchored in God - it iswritten in the text - man sanctifies the placewhere he lives and helps others to walk together,this is the “spirit of Assisi”; this is the way oflife of a Franciscan friar in the world”.the third manual deepens more specifi-cally the ecumenical dialogue, particularlydialogue with the Orthodox Churches andthe Churches of the Reformation.the fourth manual addresses a way of pre-senting dialogue with Jews, Muslims, Bud-dhists and Hindus.Finally, the fifth manual treats the dialoguewith various cultures and with atheists. Itproposes to meet atheists and those who are“far off ”, because of their cultural differen-ces or due to the wounds of life. These peo-ple are not necessarily “enemies of theChurch” in the sense that they seek its de-struction. Often, their critical behavior isemotional and is connected to their negativeexperiences or disappointments.The five themes, downloadable in pdf for-mat from different websites of our Order,are tools for pastoral ministry and, aboveall, address both personal and communita-rian formation for dialogue. They emphasizethe need to look at the challenges of ourtime and to reflect and to learn the impor-tant “art” of dialoguing with others. Theypresent some suggestions and concrete pro-posals on how to talk with different people.Hence, they offer so many possibilities tolearn not only in theory but also in practice.Thanks to those who have contributed tothe writing of these texts and happy rea-ding!

fr. Jerzy NORel

Vicar General

of the Friars Minor Conventual

The search for the absolute cannot save anyone’s journeys.The Greek Nikos Kazantzakis, a great adventurer of re-search, in his romanzo The Pauper of Assisi, put on thelips of Brother leo, a companion of Saint Francis, a storythat merits the attention of every “investigator”: “he stop-ped unexpectedly to wait for me: I had fallen in a smallditch and I was getting up, limping. Brother leo, he saidto me, I have just now composed a small fable, do you wantto hear it? (…) listen, Brother leo: The first little animalthat presented itself at the gates of Paradise was a snail.Saint Peter leaned over to him and caressed him with hiswalking stick. little snail – he asked him – what are youdoing here? The snail replied: Immortality. Saint Peterburst out laughing. Don’t laugh –said the snail – am Inot also a child of God like the Archangel Michael? I am,in fact, the Archangel Snail.Where are the golden wings, the red royal sandals and thesword? They are behind me and waiting. What are theywaiting for? They wait for the big moment. What is thatgreat moment? This! And while he said this, he jumped,almost as if he had wings and he entered thus in Paradise.Did you understand? – Francis asked me and laughed. Weare the snails, Brother leo, and we carry inside us thewings and the sword. If we wish to enter Paradise wemust jump. Up, then, my brave athlete, jump!1. And whoe-ver jumps for God will not feel disappointed. This is thecase of Francis of Assisi who jumped for faith just as achild jumps into the void into the strong arms of “Godomnipotent, Merciful, Savior”. Brother leo, on the contrary, does not have the courageto jump. The biggest problem, when he realised that hemust jump, is to find the courage to do it. A man is onewho jumps and goes beyond his own limitations, freeinghimself of all that chains his indestructible shell, his self,his concerns… Jumping means rebirth, renewal, surmoun-ting obstacles and differences, sinking in the depths whereall is confusion, but above else, it means growth, trustingin the loving offer of God’s salvation, trusting in the sameJesus that “in the hour of his passion asked that all of themmay be one (John 17, 21). This unity that the lord giftedto His Church and in which He wishes to embrace all ofus, is not an accessory; it is at the center of His work andit is not a secondary attribute of the community of his di-

INTRODUCTION

Starting Dialogue is a question of confidence

fr. Silvestro Bejan, ofm.conv.

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sciples. God loves the Church because He loves unity andin unity is expressed all the depth of His agape… To believe in Christ means to love unity, loving unitymeans to love the Church; to love the Church means tolove the communion of grace that belongs to the designof the Father of all eternity. This is the meaning of theprayer of Christ: “Ut unum sint” (that they may be one)2.Today we no longer speak of separated brothers, but ofChristians of other churches: unity in diversity, acceptingdiversity as a gift from God and not as a misfortune is thefuture ecumenical perspective; unity as a leap forward, as mutual enrichment and not as a jumpback into the past. This suggestion comes from the lec-ture of the Gospels and the experience of the earlychurch, and can sustain an ecumenical way that needs toform part of the spirituality of any baptized person. eachone of us carries inside the wings and the sword to makean important leap, and to become a pilgrim of truth in ajourney inside ourselves and it is this that lifts us up. Theonly jump in our life. The wings indicate the rising, se-eing things from a different viewpoint. Not only from theperspective of what is useful: “Only me”. The sword re-presents the instrument of battle, a real commitment inlife but also the capacity to renounce it in order to go fur-ther. In other words, like King David, who renounced theheavy armor offered to him by Saul: “It was not by theirsword that they won the land, nor did their arm bringthem victory; it was your right hand, your arm, and thelight of your face, for you loved them”3. Surrender: thatis what delivers us to God. To jump is a question of faith.“Which is this great moment? This one!”.

1 N. KAzANTzAKIS, Il poverello di Dio, Milano 1987, pp. 106-107.2 GIOvANNI PAOlO II, Ut unum sint, n. 9.3 Sal 44, 4.

5

FIRST PART

SOME FUNDAMENTALS FOR AFRANCISCAN SPIRITUALITY IN

ECUMENICAL DIALOGUEfr. Silvestro Bejan, ofm.conv.

A lot has been written about dialogue, thatit to say, about the unity of Christian chur-ches, especially in the last few years, as aneffort to achieve new forms and solutionsto follow a straightforward road. Manyhave also been, after the Second vaticanCouncil, the interventions in the ecumeni-cal sphere, either as the Universal Church,or as individual churches.It is not our intention to present a synthe-sis of all the writings and documentsabout ecumenical dialogue. Therefore, werefer the reader to the numerous analysesand syntheses already in existence and wewill try, in these pages to clarify someaspects of the Franciscan ecumenical ex-perience that have not been dealt with insufficient depth and have not been propo-sed sufficiently for training.As we will see next, in order to encourageand educate others in real ecumenical dia-logue, we do not have to invent new vi-sions or strategies, but to go to the essenceof our being Franciscan friars. To dialoguemeans to obtain a significance not only forourselves, but also for others and to givetestimony of the gospel even with our ownlives. In this perspective, ecumenical dia-

PreMise

logue is not only the extension of the mis-sion, but also the deepening of Franciscanspirituality4.We do not find in Saint Francis’s writingsany direct reference to division betweenthe Western and eastern churches. Wecannot state, however, that the Saint didnot have knowledge of the sack of Con-stantinople at the hands of the crusadersin 1204 nor of the schism in 1054, whenPope leo IX and the patriarch Michael ICerulario excommunicated each other(even if the division between the two chur-ches was effectively the result of a long pe-riod of progressive distancing).This, however, is not lacking in the refe-rences to unity and to fraternal commu-nion in the writings of Francis and hisbiographies. On the contrary, they arevery important elements. In the followingpages we will discover some fundamentaltraits of the Franciscan identity in the ex-perience of ecumenical dialogue.

4 Cfr. JOHN PAUl II, Redemptoris Missio, nn. 20, 57.

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Dialogue has its origin in the Holy Trinity. It is born of the di-vine communion and it has as its fruit the formation of commu-nities of love and the gift of unity. It is a gift from God, not a“product” of the projects or strategies of man. the true actionof man is to allow space to the transforming initiative ofthe trinitarian God, and “to wish for nothing more, nor no-thing else to wish for”5. All the other aspects and practicalquestions can be seen only from that perspective Consequently,the presence of the Conventual Friar Minor is a presence of aman who lives a profound experience of God, which is love, com-munion, unity and dialogue. To be a Conventual Friar Minormeans, in other words, to be a reflection of God – love – com-munion and to share in the Good News with the world; to bemen in relationship with others according to this profound ex-perience of God which is being lived; love with others, acceptingdiversity, sharing, participating, serving... this life experience inunity is translated into gestures and behavior of charity, happi-ness, peace, listening to all without difference of sex, nationality,Christian confession, religion or political convictions.

1. tHe eXPerience oF

God and tHe ecuMenicaL

diaLoGue

5 Cfr. Rnb 23: FF 70.

For a Franciscan friar dialogue is a question of faithfulness, co-herence and identity.

a. Fidelity to the Gospel.“The rule of the Friars Minor is this, follow the Holy Gospel ofour lord Jesus Christ…”6. To have as a starting point the Gospeland to work a conversion in one’s own life to put it into practicedaily. To be faithful to the words of Christ that calls all his di-sciples to unite: “that all may be one (…) as we are one”7.

b. Faithfulness to his origins and to his spirituality.The experience of reconciliation and conversion, the communityand the model of the Church extended as a fraternity in com-munion, poverty, brotherly relationship with all men and withcreation, dialogue as a practice of pacification…

c. Faithfulness to the road traveled by the catholic church.Walking with the Church in the commitment to ecumenical dia-logue. A Church animated in the hope that Christ’s prayer forunity will be realized. Several official documents express thishope, in particular: The conciliar Decree on ecumenism Unitatisredintegratio (1964) the Catechism of the Catholic Church (1992);the Directory for the application of principle and norms on ecumenism(1993); The Apostolic letter Tertio millennio adveniente (1994);the enciclical Ut unum sint (1995); the Apostolic letter Orientalelumen (1995).

d. Faithfulness to that which is wanted by today’s man.From 27th October 1986 our Order has been called to be a signof prophecy for the Church and mankind.This invitation was renewed by John Paul II in the Message tothe Twenty Fifth World Peace Day (1st January 1992): “Wemust keep alive the genuine “spirit of Assisi; in the city of the

2. FaitHFuLness,coHerence

and identitY’

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Poor we have initiated a common journey that must be conti-nued…” This renewed invitation by the Pontiff in 1993 and in2002 and this year by Benedict XvI during the Angelus, 1st Ja-nuary 2011: “Beloved brothers and sisters, in today’s message forthe Day of Peace I have had the opportunity to see how the greatreligions can build an important factor of unity and peace forthe human family, and I remembered to that end , that in thisyear 2011 it will be the 25th anniversary of the World Day ofPrayer for Peace that John Paul II called in Assisi in 1986. Be-cause of this, next October (2011). I will go as a pilgrim to thecity of Saint Francis, and I invite to join me in this journey allChristian brothers of all denominations and the exponents ofthe religious traditions of the world and , ideally, all men of goodwill, with the aim to remember this historic gesture made by mypredecessor and to solemnly renew the commitment of the be-lievers of each religion to live our faith as a service to the causeof peace. Whoever is on the road toward God cannot not buttransmit peace, whoever works for peace cannot but get closerto God. I invite you to accompany from now on this initiativewith your prayers”.

6 Rb 1: FF 75.7 Gv 17, 21-22.

For the Franciscan friar, fraternity is not something abstract buta gift of God and as such it has to be lived in the reality of dailylife, in the reciprocal welcome, in the sharing, in mercy and inforgiveness, in obedience and in service, in reciprocal prayer andin fraternal dialogue, also facing the difficulty of rebuilding inharmony the differences and with faith and hope. Fraternity isthen a meeting and dialogue, it is divine communion, it is a formof life that contributes to the building of the Kingdom of God.There are well known and beautiful descriptions from Franciscansources of meetings and recognition by brothers in the lord.“every time that they met in some place or in the street, therewould be a real explosion of their spiritual affection…. Theywere happy when they could meet, even more happy when theywere together, because it was very difficult for all to live separa-tely, bitter the separating, painful the moment of parting”8.Living in fraternity today is a strongly attractive sign in aworld divided and unjust, and heavily marked by individua-lism and selfishness. A visible mark of unity and for this reason“Neither do you light a lamp, and put it under a measuring ba-sket, but on a stand; and it shines to all who are in the house”9.Now more than ever the world has need of the fraternity thatmust spread. It is defined as the “great forgotten in contempo-rary history”, to the point that for various motives “silence hascome over the idea of fraternity”.

In order to be authentic signs of fraternity it is necessary tomake two important steps:

1. the first step is to live unity on the inside, in the communallife and obviously in the Catholic Church to which we belong.We cannot but feel the weight of separation wherever it may be

3. FraternitY, a siGn oF unitY

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and need to serve unity wherever we may find ourselves.2. the second is to awaken inside ourselves the passion forunity as the first expression of communal life. If the world re-jects Christians, and violence against Christians has been com-mon in the last years, it is frequently because as Christians weare not credible; we are divided; we preach the Gospel but wecreate deep chasms that divide us. Among us there is a greatneed for fraternity and receptiveness, of the capacity to listenand respect diversity in culture or faith.Through the many occasions of meeting with common peoplewe become aware that it is not Christ that is rejected as much asthe incoherent witness of His disciples.Only after having experienced inside ourselves the dynamics ofdialogue, will the Franciscan community be able to dialogue withthe whole of mankind and will it be able to guide the dialoguetoward its natural goal: unity.

8 1Cel 38: FF 387; 3Cel 11: FF824.9 Mt 5, 15.

What has just been said takes us to another aspect linked to ourway of relating to the faithful of other confessions: it is the im-portance of not being triumphalist or arrogant. In other words,not considering ourselves better than other people.In our relationships with others, our behavior is important be-cause it sends a perceptible message. How can we pretend tocommunicate the authentic face of Jesus “our sweetness”10, if weare arrogant and triumphalist? In the “spirit of Assisi” to besmall and minor are encouraged as the two behaviors that cha-racterize the attitudes of the friars among others. “For this mo-tive they are called friars minor, because they have to be thesmallest among all in the world, whether in name, as an exampleor in their conduct”11. Saint Francis assimilated these behaviorsof smallness and service as the most appropriate in the schoolof Jesus, so that he always shows himself as “small” and a “ser-vant”, “small and despised”, the smallest among the servants ofthe lord”, “servant and subject of all those who live in the wholeworld”, etc.The Churches today are called to understand each other in manyways, starting not from the security of their doctrines, of thesolidity and strength of their organizations, but from the carefulattention to the signs of the Spirit.in the ecumenical dialogue, the conventual Friar Minor sha-res, then, not some ideas about God, but above all his expe-rience of God and his conversion in Him. In the profoundunion with God, the Franciscan friar becomes a “servant of allthe brothers, a servant of dialogue” as a sign of identity, and thisdoes not entail poor self esteem, but a relationship with God thatbeing “the Most High”, He made Himself small for us in Christ.The true role of the Franciscan friar is that of service, not thatof supremacy toward other faiths for the possession of the truth.Furthermore, we should remember the words of Saint Francis“What a man is worth before God, that is what he is worth andno more”12.

4. to be sMaLLand Minor

10 Cf. lodAl, 7: FF 261.11 legPer 15: FF 1562.12 Am XIX: FF 169.

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From this smallness is born a form of dialogue that should bemaintained internally in the Franciscan Order. Many of our friarsare present in the world of the poor, they are supportive of themand share with them what they have and what they are with uttersimplicity. We can say that dialogue is a lot more than an exchange of words.To dialogue it is necessary to have a reciprocally humble attitudethat leads to true communication through silence, mutual listeningand verbal exchanges. It is a harmonious relationship. When menfrom different confessions are near each other, they are mutuallyopen when they share their projects and their hopes, their worriesand pain: they are committed to the dialogue of life.At the end of his life, Francis writes that his evangelical life startedwhen “being in sin, it was a bitter experience for me to see lepers,and the lord Himself led me to them and I showed mercy tothem”13. It will become a fundamental part of the life to share withthe most needy. He will propose to his followers: “ You must behappy when you live among people of little importance or despi-sed, among the poor and weak, among the sick and the lepers andamong the beggars in the street”14. In each epoch of history therehas existed the great and the small: Francis lived diversity, sha-ring happily his life with the most needy and calling himself andhis friars “brothers minor”. He is with the small, never wishing tobe above others and never judging the other person, whoever hemay be, or how he may behave.In Franciscan logic, first is the “dialogue of life”, then follows theother forms of dialogue, such as: “dialogue of action”, the “theo-logical dialogue”, the “dialogue of religious experience”…thatgive renewed vigor and efficacy to the “dialogue of life”15.

5. diaLoGue oF LiFe

13 Test 1: FF 110.14 Rnb IX: FF 30.15 Vita consecrata, n. 102.

In his Testament Francis says: “The lord revealed to me that weshould pronounce this greeting: may the lord give you peace”16.The peace of Christ, given by Christ, became the greeting of thenew people of the ”Minors”.The Perugian legend and the Speculum perfectionis major linkthe revelation of the greeting of peace with the revelation ofthe name of the Order of the Friars Minor17.According to these sources, Francis links the greeting of peaceto the appearance of the “new and small people,” different fromthose that had been before, the people of the “friars minor”. Thefirst friars did not draw attention only because of their povertyor for their preaching of penitence, but for their greeting ofpeace. This greeting together with the humility and the life ofpenance offers what is really new in the primitive Franciscan mo-vement; in fact, all the other elements seem to be shared by othermovements of the time (poverty, penitence…)Why then does the main part of current spiritual literature speakmainly of the movements of poverty and of penitence and rarelyof a “movement for peace”? The objective of “fraternitas” ispeace, that is to say “to conquer” all-to unite them in a new em-brace. thus the friars become true announcers and bearersof peace, for being united in a vital and continuous relationwith God, they become mediators of happiness, harmony,unity…

6. Peace and unitY

16 2Test 23: FF 121.17 Cfr. legPer 67: FF 1617;Spec 26: FF 1710.

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Francis Morente reminds us: “let Christ teach you your task !”18.It is as if to say that each one of you carries out the “share”Christ entrusts to you: to carry the message of the Gospel inour time and the place in which God calls us to live.Who really lives a profound and authentic faith cannot butbe dynamic and significant in the place where God placeshim; he cannot be indifferent to his neighbor, whether he be Or-thodox, Protestant, lutheran, Anglican or other. Indifferenceto others and to the problems of the reality of existence is lackof will, it is laziness, fear, it is not life. Also, the cry of the eter-nal innocents, of the indifferent, destroys serenity and brother-hood. The existing indifference toward the divisions among the Chur-ches, and, why not, of our communities, is the dead weight ofday-to-day duties. Indifference works efficiently in history. Itworks in a passive way, but it works. It is fatalism against whichwe cannot fight; it disturbs the healthy desires and weighs hea-vily in the steps along the way. Whoever gives of himself andplaces himself at the service of unity can find his own identityand “simplicity” so wished for by many; it can grow toward newhorizons in which the Holy Spirit will open the Church to all.“And you – Saint Francis used to say in the letter to the entireOrder – who will do these things will be blessed by the lord.May the lord be forever with you”19.

7. to do one’ssHare

18 legM XIv, 5: FF 1239.19 FF 232.

A Franciscan fraternity is alive when it is a fraternity of prayer.To pray is as important as work. Whoever does not pray is notsuitable for charity or for evangelizing. Praying together is toreally take part in unity, because it makes christ our Lordpresent among us: “where two or three are united in myname…”20. The presence of Christ fulfils the condition of unityamong all believers. He communicates to us his relationship withthe Father in the Spirit and, in it, embraces the whole world, en-compassing all into His Church.The document Consecrated life underlines the profound unitybetween life consecrated to the cause of ecumenism with the per-spective of prayer. “If in fact the soul of ecumenism is prayerand conversion, there is no doubt that the institutions of conse-crated life and the societies of apostolic life have a particularcommitment to nurture this task. It is urgent to open majorspaces for ecumenical prayer in the lives of consecrated people,and of real evangelical testimony, so that with the strength ofthe Holy Spirit they can bring down the walls, divisions and pre-judices between Christians” (vC, n.100). “In reality, no institutionof consecrated life should feel exonerated from working towardthis cause (vC, n.1 01)ecumenism starts with prayer for the other, and with the other(eg. Prayer Week for the unity among Christians). The Chur-ches will not be reconciled while they continue or argue, anduntil they do not put aside their confessional differences.Prayer for unity between Christians is the principal instrument

8. PraYer

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of the ecumenical movement. every time that the baptised cometogether in prayer, it is the Holy Spirit that guides them andshows them how to pray and to build the unity of the Church.In the first part of the decree on ecumenicalism Unitatis redin-tegratio, it is expressly stated that “The Holy Spirit that lives inbelievers and fills and rules over the Church produces this mar-vellous communion of the faithful and unites them all intimatelyin Christ to carry out the beginning of the unity of the Church”.20 Mt 18, 20.

12

SECOND PART

THE DIALOGUE WITH ORTHODOX CHRISTIANS

fr. Silvestro Bejan, ofm.conv.

When we speak about dialogue betweenthe Franciscans and the Orthodox faithfulit is necessary that between them thereshould exist empathy. It is not by chancethat the call of Francis to rebuild theChurch was born in front of an easternicon, that of the Cross of San Damiano;and, it is not by chance that Dante Ali-ghieri should compare Assisi as the NewOrient and Saint Frances to the Sun21.Brother Angelo Clareno, the principal ex-ponent of the Spiritual Franciscans isamong the first to include Francis in thegroup of the eastern Fathers and Saintsand then to perceive the affinity betweenFranciscan and eastern spirituality. A re-construction of the history of relation-ships between Franciscans and the eastcould give a fuller meaning to this relation-ship, setting it as a meeting between twotraditions interpreting a single truth.Inthis light we can recall, for example, the fi-gures of Saint Bonaventure, for havingfound a certain sympathy for part of theGreek delegation present at the II Councilof lyon22, of Saint Bernardine of Siena,for his devotion to the Name of Jesus so si-milar to the way of life the austere hesy-chast spirituality (retiring inward by ceasingto register the senses) based on the power ofthe Name of Jesus and, furthermore, towardthe priests which were knowledgeable ofthe languages and cultures of the east.Brother Haymo of Faversham, RogerBacon, Jerome of Ascoli and many others.

1.1. a unique caseSaint Francis of Assisi is a unique case in hi-story, and in his role and teaching to men of

1. saint Francis oF assisi and tHe ortHodoX cHurcHes

all time, he is an effective help to contain theeffects of the current crisis and to unblockthe difficulties of the ecumenical path whichis too slow in relation to what Christ wantsfrom us, Who desires unity “so that theworld may believe.” The evangelical life ofthe Poor One (il Poverello) constitutes ananswer to the demands of the human con-dition. His spirit, profoundly human anduniversal, the openness and respect that hehas for the whole total reality, explain thegreat attractiveness that the Poor One hasin the Catholic Church and also in the otherChurches.

1.2. the Poor one (il Poverello) of as-sisi is accepted as one of themSaint Francis was welcomed by the Ortho-dox Churches as one of them because hewas very close to Orthodoxy and its tradi-tion for his humaneness, his poetry and hisphilosophy of life. In addition, his relation-ship with God, with man and particularlywith creation were similar. His mysticism,and in a particular way the mystic signs ofhis stigmata read in Pasqual Code or inTaboric light, were understandable in Or-thdoxy as was his similarity to so manysaints of the east (Seraphim of Sarov, Ser-gius of Radonezh…); his madness inChrist, his prayer similar to the hesychasts(the prayer of the heart); his way of ma-king theology (the experimental kno-wledge of God)23.In Francis, the Orthodox Christians canbest express their spirituality, as Francisreflects his way of thinking and faces thedivine and physical worlds. His thoughtis therefore a kind of synthesis or bridge

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between the eastern and Western worlds.Considered as one of the four of five ge-niuses of saintliness in the history of theChurch, Francis is one of the few that, notonly has been a saint, but also has genui-nely innovated the world of feeling and li-ving sanctity.Saint Francis of Assisi is inscribed amongthe saints of the Calendar of the Univer-sal Church and official recognition of himhas been proposed by the OrthodoxChurch. His ecumenical vocation belongsnot only to the two sister Churches but tothe whole of humanity.The interest in the figure of Saint Francisin the east involves and encourages notonly lay intellectuals, but also several theo-logians to reflection and investigation onthe points that join Franciscan and Ortho-dox spirituality. His reflections expressand understanding of diversity with thesoul, to admire it and discover its richness.In fact, “the knowledge of the treasuresand of other beliefs […] produces spon-taneously the stimulus for a new and moreintimate meeting between brothers, thatbecomes a true and sincere two way ex-change. It is a stimulus that the Spirit givesrise to constantly in the Church”24.

1.3. LiturgyThere exist also brief liturgical texts inhonor of Saint Francis in other Churches,as an example the Greek liturgy containedin the Galatone Codice Iv25. These textshave not reached the monastic places andthe popular extracts to obtain a real cultto the Saint26. In this sense, as T. Maturawrites, “These are not complaints, thesame could be said about the Catholicswith Orthodox saints”27.

1.4. HolinessThe Church is the place where mortal menfind salvation and sanctity, and its faithfulare called saints for their participation inthe Holiness of God, Who is Holy.Thanks to the sanctity of its members, theChurch is known then as Holy. Francis ofAssisi is honored as a Saint and as a manalso after the controversies and ecclesiasti-cal divergences between east and West,but it is necessary to underline that thissanctity is not recognised by everyone: “If

any say that Saint Francis of Assisi is asaint – says O. Clement, referring to cer-tain Greek environments – it means thatthe Catholic Church can be Holy, becauseholiness is always a manifestation. Be-cause of this, it will be said that SaintFrancis of Assisi is a great man, but not asaint, seeing that only the Orthodox belie-vers can be saints”28. This affirmation ex-plains ingeniously why those who speak ofFrancis are almost always lay people, andnot Orthodox theologians, who, if theywere to admit his holiness, would have tochange their vision and ecclesiologicaltheology.

1.5. the experience with GodThe spiritual experience of Saint Francishas awakened interest and continues to doso. Spiritual life, when it is deep, affirmsthe greatest Romanian Orthodox theolo-gian D. Staniloaie: “It is different for eachperson. There are no two men that haveexperienced divine life or show the samefruits or in the same way”29. The Holy Spirit is one, but it is the Spiritembodied in different men and in differentpeoples, in the various mentalities and cul-tures. experience of the divine in Francis,a totally evangelical man, becomes histo-rically understood by all through a com-prehensible language. There is no doubt,therefore, that ecumenism means dialogueand communion between people that feelthe need to communicate spiritual expe-riences to enrich each other. They under-stand each other because they know theyexpress the same thing, even if they havesomewhat differing motives, according tothe different nature of each.In this sense we can quote an ironic sayingby an Romanian Orthodox bishop: “twotheologians that argue are and will conti-nue to be theologians. Two saints thatargue are not yet saints! Between discus-sion and prayer, saints will chose prayer.Discussions are left to theologians”30. Na-turally between spirituality and dogmathere cannot exist contradiction, moreoverthere must necessarily exist harmony and“identity”

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1.6. the orthodox see “the best” inFrancisFrancis, an ecumenical man by vocation, is“one of the most authentic disciples ofChrist”31. Moreover, as N. Berdyaev wouldsay, he is “the most important event in Chri-stian history after the life of Christ Him-self ”32.Francis, by his love for the word of Godwhich has worked in him a continual conver-sion, for his liberty and faithful obedience tothe Church, for his work of reconciliation andpeace, for the type of fraternal relationshipwith men and with the whole of creation,“considering above all this aspect, seems morea reflection of the Orthodox genius than Ca-tholicism. For this, none of the expressionsof Western Catholicism is as familiar to usOrthodox as is Franciscanism”33.

The discovery of the paternity of God, theconduct at the service of solidarity and cha-rity translatable by Francis into simplicity,humility and minority (smallness), make ofhim “the most popular Western saint, themost loved by the Orthodox”34; Francis “inthe eyes of our heart is always more similarto the classic icon of one of our saints”35.Saintliness unites and the communion ofChristians with God, fundamental to thefraternity among men, creates dialogue andshould lead to a quest. For this motive theMetropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kali-ningrad, president of the office of the Pa-triarch of Moscow for foreign relations,today Patriarch of Moscow, when he wentto visit Assisi, said in an interview “SaintFrancis, though arriving after the separa-tion, shows the continuity of the unity at ahigher level, where division does not exist.As Saint Seraphim of Sarov, Saint Francisis the proof of the unity that overcomes di-vision. And it is right that it should be so,so that hope for union between the Chur-ches remains alive”.The lifestyle of the Poor One (il Poverello)of Assisi, very close to the eastern tradi-tion, makes him “one of the most enchan-ting saints of the Western Church, andperhaps the most loved of all”36. The loveemanating from the religious experience en-hances the ecumenism of the saints. Fran-cis is the icon of the renewal of the sacrificeof the cross, the most authentic possible toencounter, and of universal sanctity.

To speak of the sanctity of Francis is notall, and while in some areas there exist aber-rations about this argument, Francis “repre-sents the sweetest human figure thateurope has generated”37 and constitutes“the highest chapter of all western cul-ture”38 and not only, but also “the greatestpoet of the first renaissance”39.The value of his laity, called to the edifica-tion of the Kingdom of God, is one of themost interesting areas of piety of the Ca-tholic saint. In him, “ignorans et idiota” isrealized, if we can say, a bridge between thetwo lungs of Christian europe, (a metaphorcreated by Russian poet vjaceslav Ivanovand used frequently by John Paul II in hisspeeches). Two lungs – the image impliesreal differences in identity between one andthe other – that breathe in unison to thesame Chant to the Brother Sun, addressedto God Omnipotent.Finally, with Francis, seen above all in hisgreat humanity, faith becomes culture; it canbe found in the culture of nations, he is theprotector saint of the intellectuals. He con-tributes in a singular way to the same affir-mation of Christian culture and civilisationand “even though he is so remote from uswe feel him a man like us, in fact more, wefeel him as a part of us […] perhaps he isthe best progeny of mankind”40.

1.7. “saint of the undivided universalchurch”The nucleus of all the affirmations of theOrthodox converge toward the idea thatSaint Francis is considered the Westernsaint most loved by Orthodoxy because heis the saint that more than any other is closeto Christ and is completely subjected to theHoly Spirit Who purifies and enlightens all.He is an evangelical saint that is nourishedby the fountain of each spirituality. TheBible: he is the saint of the undivided Uni-versal Church because he follows faithfullyin the footprints of Jesus Christ remainingtied to the “sinning” Church of his time wi-thout being contaminated, what is more, hehimself, from inside, radiates this “creativeand youthful spirit”. Such richness makesFrancis an intercessor saint, a model of lifeand a great teacher of spirituality, followedby so many devout Orthodox.

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a. Living the GospelMonastic life from the beginning wasthought as a way to follow the Scriptures.In the Rule of Pachomius, monastic life wasno more than an update of Scripture, amore radical way of living the Bible, espe-cially the Gospel.The monk was not considered “different”from the simple Christian, he was viewedas simply being a true Christian. SaintBasil rejects presenting monastic life as aparticular society at the side of the Churchor under it. For him, monastic life is a wayof living the Gospel in a radical way; thatis to say: “unique… it is the way of life ofthe Christian, as his life has one single ob-jective: the glory of God”41. As SaintFrancis will do later, Saint Basil unites inhis discourse several passages of the Go-spel in which there appears all the radica-lism of what follows.

b. the Minorityeastern monastic life individualises, aslater Saint Francis will do, its essence inminority or service. In early monastic lifein the east minority is expressed with theword hypotaghé, an expression that sum-marises the teachings of Scripture on loveas a service to the brethren, a love totallyfree in imitation of Christ, poor, humbleand crucified42. For Saint Pachomius andSaint Basil, hypotaghé has above all a mea-ning of submission and unconditional ser-vice to the community of brothers and thehuman race. The service assumes the valueof absolute dedication that goes frombelow to above, and not vice versa43.To Francis, the place of the friars is in lo-wliness: “in the Order of the friars, thereare and there will be minor friars in nameand deed, which, for the love of our lordGod and by the inspiration of the HolySpirit, which teaches and will continue toteach them everything, they will knowhow to humble themselves to each kind of

2. tHe concePtion oF tHe reLiGious LiFe

humility, submission and service to thebrothers”44.The history of salvation is the history ofthe humiliation of God and the incarna-tion is “the great madness of God. Christis humility; He is the minor par excellence.In his Praises to God the Most High,Francis says: “You are great, You are thehighest, You are the omnipotent king […] You are humility”45. “Minority” does notconsist only in feeling “small” but also in“making oneself small” because the MostHigh made Himself small. God Himselfis humble, because He is love.For this, humility not only opens man toGod, but, according to Isaac of Nineveh,it cloaks him in Christ, the Humble God:“Humility is the ornament of divinity.Making Himself man, Christ cloaked him-self. For humility he lived with us in theflesh, and whoever remembers him beco-mes truly similar to the one who camedown from his height, so that in his viewwhat was created would not be destroyed.In fact creation could not be contemplatedif He does not accept it as such”46.Minority is the way to unity and forgive-ness. “let one wash the feet of the other”47.The request of Jesus to his disciples is thatthey should be “minor” servants. It is verysignificant that Jesus’ teaching on truegreatness and on authority as a serviceshould be included in the context of theinstitution of the eucharist, “an event inwhich the Church and Christians enterinto communion with the Holy Trinity”48.Because of this gesture of Jesus’ love, andthe experience of this love, there will flou-rish the reciprocal love of the disciples. Alove that possesses the capacity to remove,with “sister water, which is very useful,humble, precious and chaste”, the dustfrom wandering feet during the centuriesamong the divisions and controversies bet-ween the two churches…And this ex-change of love must be authenticated bythe criteria of fraternal love.

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There is an evident similarity, another fre-quent feature of closeness to the east whichis seen in the experience in the life of SaintFrancis; it is his madness for Christ. Themadness for Christ is a form of ancient lifethat arose in eastern Christianity, in Pale-stine and Syria, and then disappeared. In Byzantium the “fools for Christ’s sake”are referred to with the word salos, while inRussia the same word is translated as juro-divij. Today the word is converted into atitle of sainthood of a martyr, virgin, orconfessor. It is found in the passage ofSaint Paul’s First letter to the Corinthians4,10: “we are fools for Christ’s sake” and inFirst Corinthians 1,25, where the apostlesays: “Because the foolishness of God iswiser than men, and the weakness of Godis stronger than men”. Therefore, the Godof Christianity is “foolish”. In creation isrevealed His wisdom and in the incarnationhis foolishness: He comes away from histranscendence to be with us in our pleasu-res and our pain, and the fool in Christ isidentified with Christ Who assumed ourhuman nature49.On this is based the character of the iden-tity of the “fool for Christ’s sake” and inthis point of high spiritual synthesis, theprimordial and fundamental element is themad love for the Crucified Christ, identi-fying with Him. The fools for Christ’s sakerenounce voluntarily earthly goods, walkingnaked, so that they may be transformed intoa resuscitated body, tireless pilgrims-hence,this characterizes them. They are simple,small, and identify themselves with the least

3. FooLs For cHrist’s sake

in society, despised, sincere in front of au-thority, they are a scandal to all50. The sametraits appear clearly in the life of Francis.He is aware of being a fool for Christ’ssake51. And this foolishness is well repre-sented by his biographers52, the scenes ofhis nakedness are frequent53, his poverty54,his identifying with the lepers, and his con-tinual pilgrimage55.Saint Francis of Assisi follows in the foot-prints of Jesus and travels along a privateroad to sainthood full of unique gestures ofmadness. Heir of this spirituality is Jaco-pone da Todi, who in his lauda says, “Wisehe seems to me, and courtesy to be a fool forthe Messiah” [Todi] left to us one of themost beautiful lyrics of the spirituality of“madness for the love of Christ”56.The saints “fools for Christ’s sake” venera-ted and loved by the Orthodox and very fre-quently also in the West, show much to theman of today. either we accept today their“foolishness” or the only logic is that of lea-ving them chained up. It is the same “foo-lishness” that today can give back toChristians of each confession the hope andpossibility to carry unity, peace and dialogueto the city of man. In life, according to thelogic of the “fools for Christ’s sake”, onlyone thing is important: to learn to lose andto deny oneself for God; to learn to be asmuch in the mud as on the podium. To livemeans also to lose ground. Fulfilling the“foolishness of the Cross” is nothing morein the end than addressing God continuallysaying ”With you I am mad and without youI will go mad”57.

The prayer of the heart is a typical way ofpraying in the eastern tradition, and one ofthe basic aspects of hesychasm, understoodas a way of contemplative life. It is the con-tinuous search for the communion with Godin solitude. Hesychasm means stillness, si-lence, peace, with the objective of achievingtotal union with God58. In this space ofcalm, the union with God will take placethrough the “prayer of the heart” (the Jesus

4. tHe PraYer oF tHe Heart

Prayer), based on repeating uninterruptedlysimple prayers. The most common formulais: lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, havemercy of me, a sinner”59 The pronouncingof the name of Jesus means being saved, be-cause in none other is there salvation60.Among the effects of this prayer of the heartis illumination, which transforms the bodyChristianising it, and making it share in theTaboric light. The hesychast prayer is an

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uninterrupted prayer. Holy Scripture invi-tes us to pray continuously: “pray withoutinterruption”61. This commitment in themonastic environment is achievable because“In Holy Scripture,” as Massimo the Con-fessor says – “there is nothing impossibleabout it”62, even when there is always theconcern of how to pray continuously. Ac-cording to evagrius: “It has not been or-dered to work, to wake and fast constantly,however, it is the law for us to pray withoutinterruption”63.The Orthodox Fathers firmly profess thathesychastic prayer is a prayer of the wholeman, or of the pure heart. The whole man,with all his faculties must participate in theprayer. His integrity is “coagulated” insidethe heart that designs the center of thehuman being, the root of the active facultiesof the intellect and the will, the point fromwhich comes and toward which all spirituallife converges, the point of contact betweenman and God64.For many Orthodox Christians, Saint Fran-cis is a participant in this prayer and for oneof the greatest experts of eastern spiritua-lity, T. Spidlik: “The hesychastic tendencycan certainly count Saint Francis as its ma-sterful practioners”65. The essence of thisprayer has some characteristics that areclose to Francis’ way praying.

a. saint Francis prays continuallyIn the Regula non bullata, (the earlier Rule,1221), Saint Francis exhorts the friars touninterrupted prayer: “And wherever itmay be, all of us, in each place, at everyhour and at every moment, every day anduninterruptedly we should truly and hum-bly believe, and should have in our heart,love, adore, serve, praise and bless, glorifyand exalt, magnify and give thanks to theHighest and eternal God, Trinity andUnity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Creatorof all things and Savior of all those thatbelieve, hope and love Him”66.

b. the prayer of the Franciscan Friar isa prayer “of the heart” which “sees God”Francis exhorts his friars to direct theirheart toward God and to make it a dwel-ling for God and his Word. The constantpreoccupation of all the friars should bethat of committing to “serve, love, adoreand honor the lord, with pure heart andwith pure mind, that which He asks of usabove all else”67.

c. the prayer of Francis is a prayer ofcalm (Hesychastic)Hesychasm, as we have seen, is called alsothe “spirituality of the cell”68, the true cellis the cell of the heart. The friars alsowhen they travel should live and pray as ifthey were in a hermitage. “In the name ofthe lord, go two by two in the streets,with dignity, keeping silent from morningtill after the Third Hour, praying in yourhearts to the lord. No frivolous or emptydiscourse [should occur] between you, as,you are on the road, our behavior must bequiet as if you were in a chapel or in a cell.Wherever we are or move, we should carrywith us our cell: brother body, the soul isthe hermit that inhabits inside you and in-vites you to pray to God and to meditate.If the soul does not live serene and soli-tary in its cell, it is little profit for the soulof the monk [to have] a cell created by thehand of man”69.

d. in prayer, saint Francis is envelopedin divine LightIn the prayers of Francis we find a greatexperience of light. This predilection isanother aspect which brings him close tothe eastern hesychasts: “While he prayedby night, he was seen with his hands ex-tended like a cross, his whole body liftedfrom the ground and surrounded by a lu-minous cloud: marvelous light, diffusedaround his body, which wonderfully bearswitness to the shining light of his spirit”70.

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eastern theology takes inspiration from anoriginal reality, that is to say the diviniza-tion of man through the Holy Spirit and,just the proposal to read Saint Francis inthe context of the Holy Spirit constitutes itsoriginality and the most frequent interpre-tative model.Although, if eastern theology does notaccept a “ranking” of the truths of faith,it considers divinization as a central realityin which the Patristic tradition has givenparticular importance. In God’s originalproject, man is called to be divinized andby divinization we understand the partici-pation of the whole man in the Trinitarianlife; the conversion of man by grace isthat which God is by nature71. He becomesthen a participant in the divine nature bymeans of the Holy Spirit who transformsman into an Alter Christus. In fact, thegrace present in man as an inhabilitacióndel espíritu, called by eastern Christiansdeification, works the internal transforma-tion of man by virtue of the Holy Spirit,the principle of resurrection and new life.In the Western world, however, each acti-vity of the soul is termed holy. In otherwords, the purpose of the life of man,from the eastern perspective, is not theflow of the divine through good worksthat leads to the eternal possession ofGod, but to a close union with divine life.The Catholic approach to divinization isunderstood rather as humanization, andthe discourse of sanctity is seen as a no-velty of the action of man who lives theperfection of charity; it puts the accent onthe centrality of man: “Properly under-stood, deification returns to the perfectlyhuman man: deification is the true and su-preme humanization of man”72.even underlining the major role of theHoly Spirit in the divinization of man, ea-stern theology does not wish to “give pri-vilege” to a theology of the Third Personof the Trinity, but this is Trinity-centered.In fact, an Orthodox theologian says: “in

5. divinization

the patristic tradition, theology meanscontemplation of the Trinitarian My-stery”. It is that which in one word we canterm “tiadcentrim”. The method of the Fa-thers is always integral. It excludes eachmonism exclusively centered in the Wordor on the Holy Spirit and it aspires to a ba-lanced theology, articulated on the ThreeDivine Persons73.The “position” of Francis on the positivetheological structure, within which Ortho-doxy lives the mystery of the Holy Spirit,represents an original contribution to theinterpretation of the lived experience ofthe Saint of Assisi74. It can in fact be notedhow Francis is supported by the Orthodox,not only in his humanity, but also in his ho-liness, understood without a doubt in theprism of their theology. The divinization of man in the Holy Spiritis also referred to as sanctification. It isnecessary therefore to return to the di-scourse of sainthood, understood as theparticipation in the nature of God the Fa-ther by means of Christ in the Holy Spirit.This last is the spirit of sanctity becausein Him, God reaches out to us and tran-sforms man into Himself; it is “The lasttouch of God” for man. That which isgiven in evidence is holiness, of whichFrancis, the redeemed man, is a partici-pant. The action of God sanctifies and finallythe action of Francis is sanctified man whomanifests the sanctity in which he partici-pates. Western scholars also have broughtto light the sanctifying work of the Spiritin the experience and the thinking ofFrancis. For example R. Bartoline arguesthat “All is evaluated by Francis in light ofthe Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the at-mosphere in which Francis and his familylive, they move and remain”75. The workof the Holy Spirit is revealed in Christ andwith Christ in relationship to the Father,thus, the motive by which the vision ofFrancis is structurally Trinitarian76.

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A saint is one who submerges himself to-tally in an open and continuous dialoguewith God and with men, and his world doesnot make sense without dialogue. It is thetransparency of light, of the spirit and themaximum reflexion of the humanity ofChrist. In this light of Christ one can reco-gnise the presence of the Holy Spirit andthis light is the same that illuminated Mosesafter his conversation with God and thelight that illuminated the apostles in thetransfiguration of Christ on Mount Tabor.It is the Holy Spirit that makes all that isgood in the soul.The following of Christmeans being under the guidance of theHoly Spirit to live in the Son of the Father,praising him and giving Him thanks in fullacceptance of his paternal will. To followChrist consists in one’s total availability tothe action of the Holy Spirit which progres-sively “Christifies” man, unites him withChrist, as Jesus unites man with the Father.Also the imitation or the integration inChrist and in Francis is encompassed as alife in Christ. In other words between oneand the other, there is no opposition because“to imitate Christ and to live as Christ is tolive in Christ”, and it is the work of free will

6. tHe inteGration in cHrist

to submit to divine wishes”77.The Stigmata of Francis, according to thevision of the east regarding grace, is thesign of the christification of man who be-comes a “christform” being”78. It is becauseof this that the Orthodox see in the stig-mata of Saint Francis more than a crucifi-xion; they see a transfiguration whichdeifies the Seraphic Saint within a Pasqualcontext79. To Gregory Nazianzeno in factthe divinization or the Christification, fruitof the Incarnation, is the work of the HolySpirit and it takes place through our asso-ciation with the cross of Christ80.The whole of the mystic life of Francis isdirected to this end: to let oneself be filledwith grace, to become “the temple of theHoly Spirit” making Him live in us.Francis’ “theology” is in line with whatevagrius wrote: “If you are a theologianyou will pray truly and if you truly prayyou will become a theologian”81, becausetheology is defined as the “contemplationof the Holy Trinity”82. For Francis, theo-logy is the “Wisdom of the Spirit” whichgoes hand in hand with the simplicitywhich is concerned with having the love ofGod as Trinity.

For the eastern Fathers and for Francis,the vision of the world is essentially opti-mistic, coming from the conviction thatwhat has been created was good becauseGod made it. Nature for them is theo-phany and is considered as a reflection ofthe divine sphere as a theophanic sign orsacrament; an open book to know God andHis project of love. Not only is man inte-grated in Nature, but he feels solidary withit as far as it has been created by God andbearer of the divine logos. True beautythen is a reflection of that divinity andeverything becomes “brother” and “si-ster”83. The Word took on substance towork out our salvation: “I will not stop –writes Saint John Damascene – veneratingsubstance through which my salvation wasachieved”84. Beauty is the very mystery of

7. seeinG God tHrouGH His creatures

incarnation, the place of the manifestationof God, a place in which God and manmeet in the deepest intimacy, which findsin the icon and the liturgy its most com-plete expression.If truth is always beauty, beauty is not al-ways truthful. Beauty is always relative,related to that supreme truth, which is whyit has the power to awaken in the soul thejoy of the lord, since it is convinced thatonly He has “such beauty, such goodnessand such wisdom”85.The Romanian Orthodox theologian Ni-chifor Crainic speaking of the relationshipof man with creation in his treatise of ea-stern mysticism affirms: “In this sense, Ca-tholicism itself has a great chapter ofspirituality: Franciscanism with its fasci-nating idyllic aspect embodied by Francis

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Orthodoxy expresses in its liturgicalhymns, in its feast days, in its icons a deepand tender love for the Mother of God.All the poetic instruments of the tonguesof the east are used in profusion in an ef-fort to examine the marvels worked by theHoly Spirit in the virgin Mary andthrough her, e.g., the famous liturgicalhymn of the fifth century Akathistos de-dicated to the Mother of God. “A-kathi-stos” in Greek “not seated”, because theChurch requires that it be sung or recited“standing”, like the Gospel, as a sign of areverent gift to the Mother of God.In this hymn the greeting to the virgin ismarked throughout the composition: Re-joice, Tabernacle of God the Word. Re-joice, Holy one, holier than the Holies.Rejoice, Ark made golden by the Spirit. Re-joice, inexhaustible Treasury of life. Re-joice, precious Diadem of godly kings.Rejoice, venerable Boast of faithful priests.The literary form of the salutatio remindsus of the invocations to the Theotokos ofSaint Francis: “I greet you, Holy lady,Most Holy Queen, Mother of God, Mary,You who are always virgin, Chosen by theHoly Celestial Father and by Him, Withhis Most Holy beloved Son And with theHoly Spirit Paraclete, consecrated. You, onwhom was and is all plenitude of graceand goodness. I greet you, His palace, Igreet you, His Shade, I greet you, Hisdwelling, I greet you, His clothes, I greet

8. tHe Love For tHe MotHer oF God

you, His servant, I greet you, His Mo-ther”89.Another Marian theme of Francis’ meritsour attention. It deals with the antiphonto Mary in which she is called by Francis“spouse of the Holy Spirit”90. The connec-tion of Mary and the Holy Spirit in thewritings of Francis can better be seen inthe Greek rather than the latin tradition.The liturgy and Greek Patristic writingspray to the Theotokos and in a Trinitariancontext invoke her as “spouse” or “vessel”of the Spirit91. Mary is consecrated as “ta-bernacle”, “palace”, “dwelling” of the Tri-nity as “she is full of grace and goodness”.Mary, pneumatofora-ecclesia (the spiritualroot of the Church), participates in theSpirit that gives her life, she becomes thenew eve, mother of the living, mother ofthe living in the Church. Here we can re-call the text of Simeon the New Theolo-gian: “In Paradise, woman was born fromman; she was the mother of all that wereborn on the earth. In the Church of thefaithful, the man, the Christ-God, was bornfrom woman, the primacy of life for allthose who are spiritually born by virtue offaith in Him”92.The areas of contact between the inspira-tion of the Christian east and that ofFrancis in the fields of pneumatology andMariology are many. These are impressiveand could still to be gone into in moredepth.

of Assisi himself, who preaches to thebirds, domesticates wolves and feels as abrother to all natural phenomena and crea-tures of the world. Franciscanism, seenfrom this stance, seems more a reflectionof Orthodox rather than Catholic genius.For this reason none of the forms whichWestern Christianity has taken is more fa-miliar to us Orthodox Christians thanFranciscanism”86.A behavior of ingenuous optimism in re-lation to reality is caused by receiving thegoodness of God. To this is added the in-fluence of the Jesus Prayer, which does notmanifest itself only in the human, but also

in the cosmic sphere, and the great poeticcharge and profound Franciscan opennessto the purest essence of permanent andthe eternal beauty of nature. Francisca-nism, says the Romanian Theologian N.Carinic, “with its cosmic lyricism – withthe divine effusions of its creator, the se-raphic stigmatized one on Mount verna,who preaches to the birds like the dove ofthe Holy Spirit, or with his disciple An-thony of Padua who preaches to the fishon the waters of Christ’s Gospel, formsthe highest chapter of all Western cul-ture”87.

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saint Francis and saint sergius of ra-donezh.The two saints place poverty and love to-ward all living beings at the top of Chri-stian virtues. They have a concept andbehavior which are identical to poverty;they live as paupers and identify with theneediest. Work is one form of Christianasceticism and for Saint Sergius work inthe field was a true and proper act of Chri-stian humility93.

The seraphic Father, saint Francis andsaint seraphim of sarov.The two figures are similar both becauseof the similarity of their lives and for theaffinity of their names. Seraphs are the“angels of fire”, they are an eternal andnever ending movement around the divinerealities, they are an incandescence, a light,a power to attract their “subordinates” in-flaming them with their same heat94. On

9. anaLoGY WitH tHe ortHodoX saints

one side, Francis of Assisi, called SeraphicFather, a simile with Seraphim, because hereceived the stigmata of Jesus Christ whoappeared to him in the shape of a luminousSeraph; on the other, it is said that the faceof Seraphim of Sarov was ardent and lu-minous like that of an angel of God.

The models of sanctity and their affinityto Francis are innumerable. It is for thisreason that it is possible to make a compa-rison between Saint Francis and Silvanusthe Athonite for his descent into heaven95,the starek (mystic) Amvrosij for his abilityto “read into the soul as if a book”96, thestarek Grigory Skovoroda for his simile“philosophy of life” and his poetic work97

and finally with Saint Feodosij of Kievwho transformed the solitary hermitageinto a small community of brothers simi-lar to the brotherhood created by the PoorOne (Il Poverello) of Assisi98.

From the preceding considerations, thesuggestion or invitation by O. Clement isvery significant: “... I ask myself if Fran-ciscanism, returning to its origins, cannotper chance find its true theological founda-tions on pneumatology and in Orthodoxcosmogony. And contemporaneously, ifthe ingenuity and spontaneity, the huma-nity and Franciscan poetry may not be hel-pful to the Orthodox to overcome thetenacious temptations of ritualism, of a

concLusion

theology which is too repetitive, leading itto overcome that kind of monophysism –that emerged in times of decadence and ofimmobility due to fear – which does notopen to man all the space that he needs:Francis among us (since no one is morepresent than a saint) gives testimony thatthis prophetic and creative Christianity ofthe great Orthodox thinkers of the 20thcentury have passionately invoked his au-spices”99.

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note21 «From this hillside, where it abates its rise, a sun wasborn into the world, much like this sun when it is clim-bing from the Ganges. / Therefore let him who namesthis site not say Ascesi, which would be to say too little,but Orient, if he would name it rightly»: DANTe, Para-diso, Cant. XI, v. 49-54.

22 The Greeks will call Saint Bonaventure “eutichio”, afriendly and familiar term, with the philological tran-slation in Greek of his latin name!

23 For a bibliography see: S. BeJAN, San Francesco d’Assisinelle riscrittura di alcuni ambienti ortodossi, Padova 2007;Y. SPITeRIS, Francesco e l’oriente cristiano. Un confronto,Roma 1999.

24 Orientale lumen, 22.

25 A twelve page manuscript, currently made up bythree fascicles and kept in the Capitular Archive of theCollegiata di Galatone (Puglia, Italy).

26 There is a real cult of the Franciscan Saint Anthonyof Padua in Romania The Orthodox faithful on Tue-sday place at the feet of the saint the famous “acatisti”,that is to say, little pieces of paper in which they writetheir petitions of favor and of grace, that later must beread during the rite by the celebrant.

27 T. MATURA, La visione teologica di Francesco d’Assisi,in san Francesco e la cultura russa, San Pietroburgo 18-19settembre 1996, venezia 2001, p. 78.

28 Fondamenti spirituali del futuro, intervista a O. Clé-ment, di F. Morandi e M. Tenace, Roma 1997, p. 34.

29 D. STANIlOAe, Ortodoxie si românism, Bucuresti 1998,p. 10.

30 A. PlAMADeAlA, Cuvânt înainte, a G. Savin, Misticaapuseana, Sibiu 1996, p. 7.

31 F. KONTOGlOU, San Francesco. Il povero mendico di As-sisi. La sua vita umile e la sua morte beata, in FrancescaniCappuccini. 400 anni di servizio ai Greci 1585-1995,Atene 1996, p. 375.

32 N. BeRDJAev, Il senso della creazione. Saggio per unagiustificazione dell’uomo, Milano 1994, p. 335.

33 N. CRAINIC, Sfintenia împlinirea umanului, Bucuresti1995, p. 89.

34 O. CléMeNT, Dalle altre sponde: gli ortodossi, in l.Cantucci (a cura), Francesco. Otto secoli di una grande av-ventura cristiana, Milano 1981, p. 98.

35 M. T. AleXeevA-leSKOv, Francesco d’Assisi icona del-l’indivisa santità della chiesa, in San Francesco educatorespirituale, a cura di Rinaldo Falsino, Milano 1982, p. 54.

36 K. YANNAKOPUlOS, La civiltà medievale d’Occidente e imondi bizantino e islamico, Salonicco 1993, p. 402.

37 P. KANellOPUlOS, La storia dello spirito europeo, vol. I,Atene 1958, p. 212.

38 N. CRAINIC, Sfintenia implinirea umanului, Iasi 1993,pp. 162-163.

39 N. KAzANTzAKIS, Introduzione a San Francesco d’Assisidi J. Joergensen, riportato da Y. Spiteris, Francesco d’Assisiprofeta dell’incontro tra Occidente e Oriente, in Laurentia-num 26(1985), p. 663.

40 M. BeRzA, Umanitarismul Sfîntului Francisc, «Gîndulvremii» III(1935), p. 23.

41 Regole Ampie, 20, 2, in BASIlIO DI CeSAReA, Opere asce-tiche, Torino 1980, pp. 274-275.

42 Cf. Y. SPITeRIS, “Hypotaghé”o “minorità” nel monache-simo antico, in Minores et subditi omnibus. Tratti caratte-rizzanti dell’identità francescana. Atti del Convegno Roma,26-27 novembre 2002, Roma 2003, pp. 93-111.

43 San Basilio alla domanda dei suoi monaci: “in chemodo bisogna ubbidire a vicenda?”, risponde: “Comeschiavi ai padroni, secondo il precetto del Signore: Chivuole fra voi essere grande sia l’ultimo di tutti e schiavodi tutti. e aggiunge: Come il Figlio dell’uomo non è ve-nuto per essere servito, ma per servire; e ancora Me-diante l’amore dello Spirito, servite l’uno all’altro, Cf.BASIlIO DI CeSAReA, Opere ascetiche, 397.

44 legPer 61: FF 1611.

45 lDei: FF 261.

46 Discorsi ascetici, 20 (Atene 1895, p. 307).

47 RnBu 6, 4: FF 23 - Gv 13, 14.

48 G. PATTARO, Corso di teologia dell’ecumenismo, Brescia1992, p. 282.

49 Cf. D. MOllAT - A. DeRvIlle, Folie de la croix, in Dic-tionnaire de spiritualità et mystique. Doctrine et historie, vol.v, Paris 1932, pp. 635-650.

50 Cf. F. vANDeNBROUCKe - T. SPIDlIK, Fous pour le Christ,in Dictionnaire de spiritualità et mystique. Doctrine et histo-rie, vol. v, Paris 1932, pp. 752-770.

51 legP 114: FF 1673: «Il Signore mi ha rivelato esseresuo volere che io fossi pazzo nel mondo»; Spe 68: FF1761: «Il Signore mi ha detto che io dovevo essere comeun novello pazzo in questo mondo».

52 Cf. 1Cel 11: FF 338.

53 Cf. 1Cel 6, 15: FF 344; 2Cel 7, 12: FF 597.

54 Cf. l. HARDICK, Povertà, povero, in Dizionario France-scano. Spiritualità, Padova 1995, pp. 1551-1587.

55 Cf. l. IRIARTe, Pellegrino, forestiere, in Dizionario Fran-cescano. Spiritualità, Padova 1995, pp. 1435-1446.

56 Cf. Le laude di Jacopone da Todi, Todi 2002.

57 e. CIORAN, Lacrimi si sfinti, Bucarest 1995, p. 13.

58 Tra i molti scritti sull’argomento si tengano presentii seguenti: UN MONACO DellA CHIeSA D’ORIeNTe, La pre-ghiera di Gesù. Genesi, sviluppo e pratica della tradizionereligiosa bizzantino-slava, Brescia 1964; H.P. RINCKel,La preghiera del cuore nella spiritualità orientale, Milano1992.

59 Si tratta del grido del cieco di Gerico che implora ildono della guarigione. Cf. lc 18,13 e 18, 38.

60 Cf. At 2, 21.

61 1Ts 5, 17; vedi anche: ef 6, 18; lc 18, 1; lc 21, 36.

62 MASSIMO Il CONFeSSORe, Liber asceticus, 25, PG 90,929D, 93A.

63 evAGRIO, Le traitè pratique 49, SC 171 (1971)611.

23

64 Sulla nozione di cuore nella spiritualità orientale Cf.T. SPIDlIK, La spiritualità dell’Oriente cristiano. Manualesistematico, Cinisello Balsamo 1995, pp. 104-108.

65 T. SPIDlIK, La preghiera del cuore. Un confronto fral’Oriente e l’Occidente, in vedere Dio. Incontro tra Orientee Occidente, a cura di Y. Spiteris e B. Gianesin, Bologna1994, p. 75. Su questo inserimento di Francesco nelladimensione esicasta si veda anche: M. PAPARAzzI, Gre-gorio Palamas in Aa. vv., La mistica. Fenomenologia e ri-flessione teologica, vol. I, Roma 1984, p. 450: «under thegaze of the hesychast, illuminated by the light of God,all the heavens is unfolded as a manifestation of the Di-vine presence, it is so that, as was witnessed by the lifeof certain saints (Saint Francis of Assisi, Seraphim ofSarov), nature itself is called to participate to the sca-tological participation that all created aspires».

66 Rnb XXII, 11: FF 71.

67 Rnb, XXII, 26: FF 60. vedi anche: Rnb v, 1-3: FF 88;Am XvI, 2: FF 165.

68 cf. Filocalia. Testi di ascetica e mistica della Chiesa Orien-tale, vol. II, a cura di G. vanucci, Firenze 1981, pp. 12-15.

69 legPer 80: FF 1636.

70 legMaior 4: FF 1180. Per Francesco Dio è luce per-ciò illumina gli angeli (cfr. ComPad 2: FF 267); davantial Crocefisso di San Damiano prega affinché siano illu-minate le tenebre del suo cuore (cfr. PrCr: FF 276);prega affinché si faccia luminosa la conoscenza di lui(cfr. ComPad 3: FF 268).

71 Cf. Y. SPITeRIS, Il ruolo della pneumatologia nella tradi-zione orientale, in Antonianum 78 (1998), pp. 514-517.

72 Cf. COMMISSIONe TeOlOGICA INTeRNAzIONAle, Teo-logia-Cristologia-Antropologia, in Civiltà Cattolica1(1983), p. 57. Riteniamo che sia opportuno mettere inevidenza che nell’approccio o nella visione dell’azionedello Spirito Santo nelle due tradizioni si tratta di pre-valenze e di non posizioni alternative.

73 P. evDOKIMOv, Lo Spirito Santo nella tradizione orto-dossa, Roma 1983, p. 105.

74 Nel campo degli studi francescani si veda l’approfon-dito studio di: R. BARTOlINI, Lo Spirito del Signore. Fran-cesco d’Assisi guida all’esperienza dello Spirito Santo, Assisi1993.

75 R. BARTOlINI, Struttura pneumatologica del pensiero diS. Francesco d’Assisi, in Miscellanea Francescana 97(1997),p. 404.

76 Su ciò si veda: O. vAN ASSelDONK, Lo Spirito del Si-gnore e la sua santa operazione negli scritti di Francesco, inAa. vv., L’esperienza di Dio in Francesco d’Assisi, Roma1982, pp. 133-195.

77 N. CABASIlAS, De vita in Cristo, 7, PG 150, 721D.

78 Cf. IReNeO DI lIONe, Contro le eresie, Iv, 38, 1-3.

79 Cf. SPITeRIS, Una visione delle stimmate, pp. 345-373.

80 Cf. Oratio 1, 3, PG 35, 397; Oratio 1-4, PG 35, 397A.

81 evAGRIO PONTICO, De oratione, 50, PG 79, 1180B.

82 evAGRIO PONTICO, Praktikos in SCh (Sources Chré-tiennes), Paris 1971, p. 501.

83 Cf. Y. SPITeRIS, La contemplazione del cristianesimoorientale e in san Francesco, in Laurentianum 30(1989),pp. 61-81.

84 Discorso apologetico, I: PG 94, 1245 AB.

85 S. BASIlIO, in Ps. 32, 1: PG 29, 324 B.

86 CRAINIC, Sfintenia, p. 89.

87 Ivi, pp. 162-163.

88 Cf. Preghiere bizantine alla Madre di Dio, a cura di M.Donadei, Brescia 1980, p. 27.

89 Salverg. FF 259-260.

90 Uff, Antifona 1-2: FF 281.

91 Cf. Preghiere bizantine alla Madre di Dio, a cura di M.Donadei, Brescia 1980, p. 31.

92 Trattati Teologici ed Etici, 2, 7, in SCh 122 (1966), pp.33-37.

93 Cf. lICHACev, Sergio di Rodonez e Francesco d’Assisi,in Nuova Europa, 1(1992), pp. 17-18.

94 Cf. DIONIGI AReOPAGITA, De celesti hierarchia, 7,1, PG3, 205B.

95 «Se Francesco d’Assisi fu assimilato a Cristo sullacroce del Golgota mediante le stigmate, le mani, il co-stato, ed i piedi piegati, Silvano dell’Athos, parallela-mente, fu reso simile al Signore scendendo agli inferisenza mai disperare»: e. BIANCHI, Presentazione, in AR-CHIMANDRITA SOFRONIO, Silvano del Monte Athos. Lavita, la dottrina, gli scritti, Torino 1978, p. 9; G. MAN-zONI, La spiritualità della chiesa ortodossa russa, Bologna1993, p. 514. Per approfondimenti vedi: e. BIANCHI - O.CléMeNT - J. zIzIOUlAS, Silvano dell’Athos, Magnano1999; Silvano del Monte Athos, Ho sete di Dio, Ma-gnano 1992; SIlvANO Del MONTe ATHOS, Non dispe-rare! Scritti inediti e vita, Magnano 1994.

96 Nel 1878, Dostojevskij si reca al monastero di Op-tima dove incontra lo starec Amvrosij prototipo dellostarec zosima del libro “Fratelli Karamazov”. Per ap-profondire vedi: J. B. DUNlOP, Amvrosij di Optina, Ma-gnano 2002.

97 A questo riguardo vedi l’ingegnoso studio di I.NABOK, Pellegrini: Francesco d’Assisi e Grigorij Skovoroda,in San Francesco e la cultura russa, venezia 2001, pp. 123-140.

98 Cf. MANzONI, La spiritualità, p. 66.

99 Ivi., p. 101.

24

THREE PART

DIALOGUE WITH THE CHRISTIANSOF THE REFORM

1. tHe cHurcHes in tHe Protestant reForM

prof.ssa annarita Caponera

mension, it was the starting point for a pro-cess of “confessionalization”, that is to saya centrifugal movement. The churches be-came confessions which tended to establishthemselves by the characteristics that di-stinguished them, undermining even fur-ther the unity of the Church, as forexample (ecclesia semper reformanda est)the Catholics did all they could not to ap-pear to be lutherans by downplaying theirinterest in the Bible, while the lutheransdid all they could not to seem Papists.Inside the Protestant world, movementswere born to reform the Reformation, ac-cording to the lutheran principle “of justi-fication by means of faith”. In the“institutionalised” Reformation, other re-forming groups were formed, the so called“Awakening Churches”, for this reason wefind this expression in the Protestantworld:First Generation Churches:1. Lutheranism (of Martin luther)2. calvinism (of Geneva, where John Cal-vin [1509-1564] had organised the ”Refor-med Church according to the word ofGod”).3. zwingliism (of Ulrich zwingli [1484-1531] consist in a radicalization of Calvi-nism).4. anglicans (the Anglican communionwas not born of the Reformation, but froma schism and assumed the evangelic doctri-nes only in part and is considered a “middleway” between Catholicism and Protestan-tism). 5. anabaptists (born in zurich among themost radical followers of zwingli).The churches that were born from the

When speaking of the Protestant Refor-mation one immediately thinks of Martinluther (1483-1546) and what this GermanAugustinian monk did in the 16th Century.For this reason the start of the Reforma-tion has a name: luther.With luther the Reformation is not in thediscipline but the way of being Christians.He proposed a new way of being Chri-stians, placing the accent in other places ofthe Revelation: where the authenticity ofthe Church was being discussed, lutherspeaks of the authenticity of the Word;where they spoke of the authenticity of thedeeds, luther spoke of the authenticity offaith.For a long time certain critics thought thatluther was psychotic or corrupt, but surelyhe had a great faith that took him to theDiet of Worms in 1521 to defy death, re-peating that he could not go against hisown conscience100. He affirms the primacyof God through the primacy of the wordand of conscience. He affirms in this waythat salvation is free and his belief in this(sola fides, sola gratia, sola Scriptura). TheProtestant Reformation was not only a po-litical and cultural event as a rejection ofthe corruption of the Church, but also a re-ligious and theological event, a religiousand theological experience which has itsorigin in the person of luther. For thisreason in the ecumenical field, the figure ofluther was revised.But if the Reformation cannot be explainedwithout luther, he is not enough to explainall the Reformation, as stressing the innerpart, the “charismatic” dimension in respectto the appearance, the “institutional” di-

25

kkk

schisms of the mother churches also be-long to the world of the Reformation, suchas the Methodists (which proposes a me-thod of life to achieve perfection and holi-ness as a counter point to Anglicanismwhich is seen as “too weak,”) the “Churchesof the Awakening” from 1600 -1700, to theevangelical and Pentecostal churches thathave no direct ties with the history of theProtestant Reformation. The later Chur-ches were born as an awakening to the Re-formation already established, and were, intheir judgement, too “institutionalised” hi-storical churches. The Reformation is the beginning of achain reaction process. It was not one ac-tion but it began a process which has leadto two types of Churches: 1. Presbyterian churches (governed at va-rious levels from the presbytery, assemblies,consistories or synods).2. congregational churches (stress theindependence and autonomy of each localcongregation in which all the Christianshave fundamentally equal responsibility as“priests in front of God”).The ulterior confessionalization which tookplace in all the Pentecostal movements, re-sponds to the criteria of being linked to theWord of God and to have originated not ina reformer, whether he be wise and noble,but in the Holy Spirit which illuminatedand allowed them to know a particular wayof reading Scripture. Another commonaspect is the freedom of Christian interpre-tation and practice, which cannot be a fee-ling of power of any man, but only thepower of God which manifests Himselfthrough the Spirit. Another quality whichtoday is less incisive, but was and still ispresent in many groups, is the aversion tothe Roman Church and to the stronglystructured and institutionalised churches.Another element is the concept of aposto-licity of the Church which is guaranteed bythe fact that in a given place, the Word ofGod transmitted to the apostles is prea-ched. This is, according to the Gospels, thetrue apostolic succession. Another elementis the rejection of the ordained priesthoodas a sacrament being the only priesthoodof Christ, which is shared by means of thebaptism and all Christians. Another ele-ment of rejection is to all forms of inter-

cession between men and God that is notthrough Jesus Christ. Hence the rejectionto both the intervention of Mary and thesaints; these are seen as subordinate formsto the only mediator “Christ” which the Ca-tholics sustain.These differences have produced throughthe centuries a mentality, a culture and astyle of being men and Christians that hasstrongly impacted the life of people and hasdetermined a sense of superiority towardthe world known as Protestant in respectto Catholic. The Protestant world wouldbe the world of freedom and conscience, ofcreativity and progress; the Catholic worldhowever is the world of obedience, of hy-pocrisy and deceit.From the theological and cultural stan-dpoint, today the two worlds are comingcloser and history is seen in two possibleways, but sedimentation that has takenplace over the centuries is not easy to de-molish.In our journey into the Protestant world,the first non Catholic Christian communitydeserves a special mention. It has resistedpersecutions and the ravages of time: it isthat of the Waldensians. Their origin as areforming movement inside medieval Chri-stendom starts 350 years before the Prote-stant Reformation, in France andimmediately afterwards spread to Italy.Their founder, Peter Waldo (died in 1206)lived a generation before Saint Francis withwhom he shared the love for poverty andhis choice of evangelical life. Initially ap-proved by the Pope, they immediately re-jected the prohibition to preach withoutecclesiastical permission, being laymen, andfor this they were excommunicated (1184).From then on they became victims of per-secutions by the ecclesiastical and civil au-thorities, and lived a history of sufferingoutside the Church. In 1532 they adheredto the Swiss Reformation and established areformed Church. Their faith then coinci-des with Calvinism. Their differences withthe Catholic Church, it can be said, origi-nate from the position of Waldo, accordingto whom it is necessary first to obey Godrather than men, referring to the Churchand its authority. In this separation bet-ween Gospel and ecclesiastical authoritylays fundamentally the root of the differen-

26

ces and division. The word of God for theWaldensians is the only and absolute sourceof revelation, without possible ecclesiasticalmediation. There is no discussion regar-ding truths of faith such as the Divine Tri-nity, or the mystery of Christ, of his deathand resurrection, faith and baptism asmeans for salvation; neither is the centralityof the last Supper required by Christ as ameans to real communion with Him andamong the brothers. However, what is inquestion is the constitution of the Church,its role in the salvation of believers, theidentity and function of its pastors and mi-nisters.The ecumenical position of the Walden-sians is characterised by the opposition to“reconcile the differences” through inter-communion, which means participation ofall the baptized, such as they are, accordingthe traditions of the Churches, to the tableof the lord. That is to say: we are diffe-rent but always believers and baptized inChrist; if we unite around the one broken

bread and share the one chalice, we are nolonger divided, but brothers in the sameChristian family by virtue of the grace ofthe Holy Spirit.Such a proposal, according to many ecume-nists, would not lead to a true union in faithand in charity, but rather to fix and codifythe division: one artificial and erroneousunity. According to these ecumenists, it isfirst necessary to seek together in ecume-nical dialogue those elements which are thereconcilable diversities which are coherentwith Christian faith, and which, however,require a clarification and a decision in thelight of the Gospel lived in the Traditionof the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.This is what has already been done in theecumenical movement in the last decadesof the last century and which must be donein the coming years.

100 The Diet (Tag), In the ancient law of the Germans,was the meeting of the people for the most importantdecisions (first among them the election of the sove-reign).

2. saint Francis and

tHe cristians oF tHe reForMation

fr. Silvestro Bejan, ofm.conv.

Protestants have felt for a long time a par-ticular attraction for Saint Francis despitetheir view on saints, sainthood and its helpin intercession. History shows that Fran-cis and the Franciscan Tradition representa natural bridge between Catholics andProtestants. In a certain sense, in theireyes, Francis, an evangelical man, was nei-ther Catholic nor Protestant: he was aChristian welcomed by men and womenbelonging to many cultures, churches andreligions.Between 1800 and 1900, Catholic and Pro-testants were committed to the rewritingof the life of the Saint, which shows hisoriginal and exemplary faith, capable ofovercoming the difficulties imposed by theconfrontation between the official confes-sions and modernity. Reformed and Catho-lics were united in pointing out the PoorOne of Assisi as a symbol of a mystic/pro-

phetic sanctity, objective and anti-dogma-tic, according to the Creed101.The book Franz von Assisi by the Prote-stant Karl Hase, published in 1856, andpresented successively in a French transla-tion by ernest Rénan, prepared the way forPaul Sabatier (1858-1928). It was preciselythis Protestant theologian that gave rise tothe detailed examination of the early textsabout the saint of Assisi. After La vie deSaint François d’Assise of Sabatier, all scho-lars and enthusiasts had to look and studyagain the figure of the Poor One recogni-sing him in his authentic evangelical expe-rience102.This leads to consider another aspect.The gathering of travelers, pilgrims bothProtestant and Anglican, toward the cityof Assisi, was always a sign of the extra-ordinary popularity of Saint Francis. Itwas always more visited by the numerous

27

pilgrims from east and West. The City ofAssisi is identified with the Franciscan spi-rit and in it one can discover the places lin-ked to the life of Saint Francis, where onediscovers peace, fraternity, forgiveness, re-spect for nature and for each living being,happiness and hope, the appetite for life; allelements that impact in the spirits of its vi-sitors.Whoever starts the journey is not alwaysa pilgrim but can become one, and the se-arch can take place in the meeting. Thetypical example of the pilgrim that appe-ars really as an investigator which does notstop and goes deeply into a spiritual com-munion with the Saint, was without doubtJohannes Jorgensen. Converted to a Catho-licism which was more Franciscan thanChristian, thanks to the Conventual Fran-ciscan Friar Felice Spée, the Danish writerwould walk the road of Saint Francis inorder to hear the voice present in the placesand searched the traces in the faces of thefriars, which with the distance of the cen-turies repeat Francis’ gestures103. His Fran-ciscan road brings him in mysteriously andprogressively into a space which growsand allows him to reach into the deepestparts of himself.

and what can a Franciscan friar do?One of the tasks of ecumenical dialoguewhich the Franciscans can make their own,consists in purifying the memories and re-considering the reasons of each side wi-thout preconception or prejudice, in thelight of the Word of God and under theilluminating action of the Holy Spirit.To do this task well, Franciscan friarsmight incorporate all their activities withtheir Protestant brothers and sisters, forexample, the study of the Word of God, inorder to spread together the Gospel, goingfrom an interior to the public space of so-ciety; or to get them to do all that is possi-ble, such as praying for the unity ofChristians, carrying out initiatives aimedat strengthening and promoting social ju-stice, building equality between men andwomen, protecting what has been crea-ted…

spread the GospelHoly Scripture is an excellent instrument

in the hands of God to achieve unity.each reference is always a journey of uni-fication. A divided Church falsifies theWord that God announces. The Bible sha-red is the source that has exclusive andconclusive authority over all aspects of lifeand of the existence of the Church and theChristians within it.The Conciliar document Unitatis redinte-gratio al n. 21 says: “The love and venera-tion –almost the cult-- of the HolyScriptures lead our brothers to constantand diligent study of the sacred book.The Gospel is in fact “the strength of Godfor the salvation of each believer, of theJew first and then of the Gentile” (Rm1,16).Invoking the Holy Spirit and searching inthe same Holy Scripture for God as theOne Who speaks to them in Christ, an-nounced by the prophets, Word of God in-carnate for our sake. In it we see the lifeof Christ and all that the Divine Teacherhas taught and fulfilled for the salvation ofman, specially the mysteries of his deathand resurrection.But when Christians, separated from us, af-firm the divine authority of the sacredtexts, they think differently from us aboutthe relationship between the Sacred Scrip-tures and the Church. According to theCatholic faith, in fact, the authentic magi-sterium has a special place in showing andpreaching the written Word of God.However, in dialogue the Holy Scriptureconstitutes an excellent instrument in thestrong hand of God to achieve the unitythat the Savior offers to all.When we approach the Word of God withthe spirit of Saint Francis the word comesalive and bears fruit in the Church, mani-festing all its saving power. The vivifica-tion of the Word is a gift of the HolySpirit.The Word of God inspires each man to dogood deeds; but for the effect of sanctifica-tion which produces in man, it is the Wordof the Holy Spirit which purifies and uni-tes.

serve the worldFaith is not an act that leaves aside the re-spect for the world and its problems. Inthe field of ecumenical promotion, the se-

28

arch of humanity asks Christians to takecharge of the service to man. The Conci-liar document Unitatis Reintegratio says:“Faith with which we believe in Christ pro-duces the fruits of praise and thanks forthe benefits received from God; to this isadded a strong feeling of justice and a sin-cere charity toward our neighbors. Thisactive faith has also created various insti-tutions to alleviate spiritual and physicalmisery, for the education of the young, tomake more humane the social conditionsof life, to establish wherever needed a sta-ble peace”104. The lordship of Christ ismagnificence of service and not of power.

101 Cf. S. MIGlIORe, Mistica povertà. Riscritture francescanetra ‘800 e ‘900, Roma 2001.

102 Francesco d’Assisi attesa dell’ecumenismo. Paul Sabatiere la sua “Vita di S. Francesco” cent’anni dopo, Atti del Con-vegno di studi organizzato dall’Istituto di Studi EcumeniciS. Bernardino e dalla Facoltà Valdese di Teologia, Roma 9marzo 1993, Venezia 11 marzo 1993, in Studi Ecumenici12 (1994), n. 3.

103 Cf. F. ROSSeTTI, Padre Felice M. Spée (1853-1916),Monteriggioni 2008.

104 Unitatis redintegratio, n. 23.

PraYers in Honor oF saint FrancisWriten bY ortHodoX cHristians

«You are the resplendent star, come fromthe West to enlighten all the universe, thehearts and minds of mortals; the shiningstar that illuminates the heart of those thatsatisfy with faith the memory (of you whoare) the saint and the most distinguished ofthe Assisians. You are the morning star,the aurora and fountain of light. Oh custo-dian of the Bear, oh light of the evening,strengthen our faith»105.

105 Testo riportato dalla trascrizione dal greco di DANIelI,Il rito greco a Galatone, p. 95.

«troparion: Your glory, venerated FatherFrancis, as the shining moon has passedfrom West to east. You took holy povertyas your wife, renouncing the glory of thisworld and riches that become corrupt; sha-ring with all the sufferings of Christ. Re-concile the east with the West, bringingthem unity through your prayers. Protectthe Church throughout the whole world.Admirable Father, Illustrious Francis, spiri-tual cup from which the grace of the HolySpirit flows like sweet perfume.

kondakion: Oh thou who are the glory ofItaly, its intercessor with Anthony and Be-nedict, through thy prayers keep safe alsothe Russian soil, oh venerated Father, whorejoices in heaven next to Theodosius, Ser-gius and Seraphim. Of all those that suffermay you be their protector and with yourprayers run to relieve the faithful that cele-brate you, venerated Father Francis»106.

106 A. levITIN-KRASNOv, Rodnoi, vol. Iv, Frankfurt/Main1981, pp. 378-379.

29

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