Introduction
Sub-committee II of the Special Commission on Orthodox Participation in the WCC has been mandated to discuss "the style and ethos of our life together in the WCC". The word "style", and even moreso "ethos", can sound rather vague. They attempt somehow to evoke the way in which things are done within a relationship, the character of that relationship, the atmosphere of a place. And yet even as these are qualities that are difficult to describe acurately, they are at the centre of the tensions experienced in the ecumenical encounter. For while this encounter is endlessly rich and complex, comprising so many different participants at so many different levels, there is an indisputable character to the life of this complex community, a style and ethos which are self-perpetuating.
Among the repeated concerns of Orthodox and other participants in the ecumenical movement are those surrounding the programmatic agenda of the WCC (which issues end up on the agenda, and the manner in which they are addressed), and the worship life of the WCC (its language and style). The task of Sub-committee II is surely not to debate the issues themselves, but to examine together the nature of the de facto style and ethos which characterise WCC life and work. What is the "space" within which we dialogue together and pray together? What is the climate within which programmatic priorities arise?
Furthermore, one might ask, is there any credence to the perception that the WCC, despite its policies of neutrality, is a place where liberal Protestantism prevails, an organization which has lost any theological rigor it once embraced, in favour of a more politicized agenda? Such a perception -- more widespread than most of us would like to admit -- lurks within the many itemized lists of concerns that have been a part of Special Commission dossiers.
