A Communion of Martyrs

Ecumenical Review, The, April, 2000 by Sven-Erik Brodd

In the Church of Sweden, at least since the days of Archbishop Nathan Soderblom, St Birgitta has been looked upon as a saint. This even caused some controversies between the "evangelical Catholics" and Roman Catholics in Sweden, and Soderblom wrote a famous pamphlet in which he coined the phrase "Birgitta is ours".(15) From an historical perspective, this is one of the roots of the remarks on catholicity in the Swedish bishops' response to Ut Unum Sint. The claim goes further than "right teaching" and "purity of faith" in an abstract sense. It concerns continuity with the church in all times, also with the mediaeval church in Sweden. Ultimately it concerns the "fullness of faith". In the cathedral in Strangnas, between the relics from the early church and the memorial to the martyrs from the 20th century, there are statues and pictures of martyrs throughout history: Catharina of Alexandria, St Erik (martyred in 1160), the local martyr St Eskil (died in 1080), and so on. The martyrs in this setting contribute to the understanding of the catholicity of the church. From the perspective of the hermeneutics of martyrdom, the statements in Ut Unum Sint could similarly contribute to a deeper understanding of catholicity.

The martyrs of Christian conflicts

One problem with using martyrdom as an hermeneutical key in the ecumenical process is the confessional martyrs, who died in the upheavals during various periods of reformation in the church. While this issue is not mentioned explicitly in Ut Unum Sint, it would obviously be unsatisfactory to ignore the problem.

A possibility of resolving the problem in accordance with the fundamental theology of the encyclical would be to admit that these persons died for what they perceived as the true faith and doctrine of the church of Christ. The core of this faith, however, was the confession of the one who is the Truth. This would make it possible to discern the centre of the martyrdom, that is, Christ's sacrifice on the cross, which was prepared also by the prayer for the unity of his disciples, a perfect communion modelled on the Holy Trinity.

Martyrdom during times of theological and church-political controversies was sometimes obscured by the burden of misgivings, misunderstandings and insufficient knowledge (para. 2), but these martyrs also bear witness that "the unity willed by God can be attained only by the adherence of all to the content of revealed faith in its entirety. In matters of faith, compromise is in contradiction with God who is Truth" (para. 18). Even if we today, through a deeper understanding of divine revelation, supported by the Holy Spirit, come to other conclusions, the fidelity to Christ in martyrdom remains.

A papacy grounded in martyrdom

The final section of the response to Ut Unum Sint from the Church of Sweden bishops discusses the Petrine ministry. According to the bishops, "the papacy may not be necessary in order to be church", but "it could be considered as a necessity for the unity between the churches". This implies an openness on the part of the Swedish bishops to the invitation by John Paul II to discuss the primacy of the bishop of Rome.