Pierre L’Huillier

This article by Archimandrite Peter L'Huillier, written in 1964 in the context of the third pan-Orthodox conference of Rhodes and the Second Vatican Council, examines the position of the Orthodox Church toward the contemporary ecumenical movement. Belonging to the realm of engaged theological reflection, it identifies two symmetrical pitfalls to be avoided: immobilism, which reduces ecumenism to a peaceful coexistence without any aim of doctrinal unity, and rushing ahead, as illustrated by the proponents of premature intercommunion with Rome. The author advocates active, competent, and coordinated Orthodox participation in the Ecumenical Council, while reaffirming the inviolability of Orthodox ecclesiology and sacramental theology. The contribution of the article lies in its clear formulation of the conditions for a credible Orthodox ecumenism, distinct from liberal dogmatic relativism, and in its analysis of the specific role that Orthodoxy can play in the dialogue between Protestantism and Roman Catholicism.

This article offers a commentary article by article on the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed, written in French by two Orthodox theologians. The historical introduction, by Vladimir Lossky, traces the formation of the creeds of faith from the baptismal confessions of the second century to the definitive establishment of the so-called Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed, confirmed by the Sixth Ecumenical Council. The following articles, completed after Lossky's death by Archimandrite Pierre L'Huillier, successively comment on each formula of the Creed: the Trinity, Christology, the Incarnation, the Passion, the Resurrection, the Ascension, pneumatology, ecclesiology, baptism, and eschatology. The main contribution of this work is twofold: it constitutes, according to its editors, the first complete Orthodox commentary on the Creed written in a Western language, and it systematically articulates the Greek patristic tradition with the conciliar definitions in order to bring out their dogmatic coherence.