The discovery of Europe*

Abstract

The long absence of 'Europe' as a theme in the international debate can be explained by three factors: the predominantly national orientation of Protestant and Orthodox churches, whereas in Roman Catholic thinking 'Europe' seems to have an almost ecc1esiological meaning; the fact that for four decades after 1948 the history of the ecumenical movement coincided with the Cold War; and the fact that for long periods 'Europe' has been absent as a theme in the political debate as well.' During the Cold War official ecumenical life in Eastern Europe was instrumen­ talised by the regimes and had no roots in society. Ecumenical life in Europe was basically Western European. The Cold War resulted in one of the great failures of the large international ecumenical organisations and their western member churches: for Christian dissidents in Eastern Europe political excommunication also meant ecumenical excommunication. The ecumenical taboo on public debate about the reality of Eastern Europe was broken only in Basel (May 1989), mainly thanks to some Roman Catholic delegates from Poland. A less-known result of the Cold War for ecumenical life was neglect of the (Western) European integration process by the large ecumenical organisations such as the WCC and CEC. This taboo lasted until about 1993. Rather than being the result of developments in the European Community (the Single Market and the Maastricht Treaty, for example), the (slow) lifting of this taboo came about as a result of the 'Wende' (changes) in Eastern Europe in 1989. An important impulse for the rediscovery of Europe by the churches came also from politics: in November 1990 Jacques Delors issued a challenge to the churches in Europe to participate in the search to give Europe 'a heart and a soul'.2