Ecumenical Patriarchate's Ukraine Commission Meets with Archbishop of Athens

On 14 May 2018,the Commission on Ukraine of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople called on His Beatitude Archbishop Ieronymos II of Athens and All Greece at the Holy Synod of Greece's offices in Athens.The Commission members attending were two prominent theologians,His Eminence Metropolitan John of Pergamon and His Eminence Metropolitan Emmanuel of France;and His Eminence Metropolitan Bartholomew of Smyrna (Izmir,Turkey).For its part,the Holy Synod of Greece,besides Archbishop Ieronymos,were represented by His Eminence Metropolitan Symeon of Nea Smyrni,an expert on Patristics and Byzantine Theology;His Eminence Metropolitan Damaskenos of Didymoteichon and Orestiadis;and His Eminence Metropolitan Ignatios of Demetrias and Almyros,member of the Holy Synod's Committee for Inter-Orthodox and Inter-Christian relations. The purpose of the meeting was to brief the Church of Greece about the Ecumenical Patriarchate's evolving involvement in the question of the prospective autocephaly (independence) of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.Autocephaly has been officially requested by Ukrainian President Petro Porishenko and the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada (Parliament),as well as two of the three Orthodox jurisdictions in Ukraine,the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kiyivan Patriarchate and the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church.It's basically seen as a major step in Ukraine's evolution as a free and independent nation,spritually and culturally as well as politically.The third jurisdiction,the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate,is bitterly critical of the idea,saying,among other things,that it is a political tactic being used by President Poroshenko for the upcoming election.*
In the course of the dialogue in Athens,however,it reportedly emerged that His All-Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople is determined to proceed with granting autocephaly to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.Archbishop Ieronymos took a neutral position as,given the gravity of the issue,he wants to put it before the whole synod of the Church of Greece at its next assembly in October.*
The Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate meets again at the end of May,so a final decision on autocephaly for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church could come as early as then.

Patriarch Bartholomew Hosts Many Balkan Visitors,Making Candid Remarks on Recent Controversies

Between 10-11 April 2018,His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople received a series of visitors from the Balkans.On 10 April arrived the President of Bosnia and Herzegovina,His Excellency Mladen Ivanic.Mr.Ivanic and Patriarch Bartholomew reviewed the issues of the day for about thirty minutes.
This session was followed about an hour later by a private meeting between His All-Holiness and the President of FYROM,the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,Gjeorge Ivanov,along with his wife and son,as well as  some of his colleagues and the FYROM Ambassador to Turkey.As before,many important issues were gone over;while,at the same time,there was an exchange of Paschal greetings and gifts.
At both meetings with the Balkan leaders,Patriarch Bartholomew was joined by His Eminence Metropolitan Gennadios of Sassima,a well-known theologian;His Eminence Metropolitan Elpidoforos of Bursa,Turkey;and the Very Rev.Archimandrite Joachim (Billis),Chief Secretary of the Holy and Sacred Synod.*
On 11 April,His All-Holiness addressed a number of professors and students from the St.Clement of Ohrid Theological Seminary in Skopje,FYROM,who were on a visit to Constantinople and Thessaloniki,Greece.Deploring the Church of Bulgaria's recent effort to grant autocephaly to the Macedonian Orthodox Church,which no other autocephalous Orthodox Church recognises,Patriarch Bartholomew admitted:
I am thinking about this because I want to be perfectly honest with you.This action of the sister Church of Bulgaria was wrong.It does not help.It complicates things.The Mother Church of all the Balkan peoples is Constantinople.That is what the true history says.What is being discussed is a fictitious mother.And Bulgaria cannot introduce you to canonicity,or normal relations with the other Churches.There must be direct,honest and sincere inter-Orthodox relations.
Every time a Synaxis of Orthodox Primates is convened either here or in Chambesy,the Ecumenical Patriarchate's attempt is to put all subjects on the table and to discuss them with honesty and sincerity.*
The Patriarch made an open invitation to the FYROM theological educators and students:
Know that we love you,and come whenever you want in this beautiful and historic City,where are the Courtyards of the Mother Church,from which you,and all the Balkan peoples,received baptism and the light of Christianity.Therefore,every time you come here to us in Istanbul,you do not have to feel that you are strangers,that you are guests;but that you are at home.
We have high hopes for you and for your ministry in the Church in the future.These are true despite the fact that there are currently problems between your country and Greece,and between your Church and all other Orthodox Churches.Precisely,we count on the new generation of theologians and clergy,which can help strengthen relations of neighbouring peoples and between the Orthodox Churches.Today,our generation,the older generation,will do everything we can to improve the situation,especially our Ecumenical Patriarchate,which has the coordinating role in the transcendental things-and after our generation,you will take over and you will continue,cultivate and augment these good relations between our peoples and our Churches.*
Following his moving address,His All-Holiness distributed with his blessing to the FYROM pilgrims books on the history of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the official texts of the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church in Crete in 2016;Easter eggs and holy keepsakes.They were also invited to dine with the Patriarch in the Patriarchal refectory.

Greek Churchman Strongly Defends Great and Holy Council,Ecumenical Patriarchate

A new book by His Eminence Metropolitan Chrysostomos of Messinia,Greece has just been published in Greek," 'Significant' For the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church-the suppression and support in the preparation and the aftermath."His Eminence is a professor in the Theological Faculty of the University of Athens and well-known for his deeply theological and patristic style.For example,he concludes that:
Therefore,we should behave in a way that honours the Conciliar institution,and not contribute to its destruction,which is ultimately the destruction of the Church's own unity;recognising and accepting the work of the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church as a project of unity,freedom,society,respect,solidarity,fairness,peace and ministry between peoples and nations.*
Among many other related points covered in his work are these,which may suggest the flavour of his book:
1.The Pan-Orthodox Synod seems to be a requirement of the times,and the course towards it was inexorable,as well as the closer communication of the Orthodox Churches then isolated from each other because of the various socio-political situations.
2.It should be admitted that in Crete (June 2016) an undisputed and essential step was taken to overcome the "autoimmune introspection" of some local Orthodox Churches,which for many centuries afflicted the Churches;while,at the same time,redefining the course towards a new operation of Synodality with timid but decisive steps.
3.Eventually,the case of the Holy and Great Council was critiqued by so-called fundamentalist circles,who do not make a constructive,legitimate critique,but try to break its collegial character by characterising it as a robbery or defeat,thus weakening the unity of the ecclesiastical body and devaluing the Conciliar institution,with the primary aim of challenging the important,coordinating and essential role of the Ecumenical Patriarchate as first in the ministry of unity of the Orthodox Church.All of this leads to the development of a blatant scandal and unwarranted argumentation,while unity is disturbed.
4.The counterpoint to such a divisive tendency cannot be the diametrically opposed "ecclesiastical or religious" construct,but the collaboration of the Orthodox Christian Churches with the other Christian Churches,even with other religions,in order to cultivate a spirit of cohesion,solidarity and unity.
5.It seems that this,which we initially characterised as the "Cold War" of East and West in reference to the Holy and Great Council,is not far from the reality we face today.The political leader with theocratic concepts of a Christian ideal,medieval type,with the collaboration of ecclesiastical leadership and the "flag" of anti-Westernism,creates an ideological and spiritual counterpart to corresponding forms of theocratic leadership,for example,the theocratic Islamist regimes,which are not far from its method,exclusivity,pursuits and redundancies.

Loyal Opposition:Conservatives Respond to Holy and Great Council

A commission of the Sacred Community of Mt.Athos,Greece,the center of Orthodox monasticism,has responded with a report to last summer's Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church.The commission praised the freedom of speech at the Council and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew's exemplary conducting of its sessions.It also lauds the brilliant attempt to improve the conciliar documents undertaken by the Primates and members of the conciliar delegations.*
The commission was uncomfortable,however,with the conciliar text "Relations of the Orthodox Church with the rest of the Christian World" as the documents still allow for a double interpretation and they await a more precise formulation,that the truth would shine forth,the faithful would receive consolation,and arguments and conflicts would stop.The current division and conflict in the Church without a doubt contribute to allowing a dual interpretation of the texts of the Crete Council.The ambiguity of these documents creates the prerequisite for interpreting them in an ecumenical spirit and consequently pose a threat to the unity of the Church.The documents of the Crete Council must overcome their one-sidedness which is due to the neglect of the theological tradition,traced by the modern God-bearing elders and authoritative theologians,who have looked upon the path of ecumenical dialogue as an ecumenistic deviation from the truth.*
The documents of the Holy and Great Council contain inaccuracies and deficiencies.However,no union was signed as at Lyons or Florence-not one Orthodox bishop fell into heresy as defined by the Church.The desire for mass non-commemoration pleases only enemies of the Church.We look with hope for further theological revisions and more accurate formulations of the conciliar documents,the commission says.*
For his part,His Eminence Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos,Church of Greece,told the Orthodox Typos publication he feels the documents are diplomatic compromise texts,from which each can draw the conclusion that he wants.He cautions,however,that Orthodox should not go into schism or cease commemorating their hierarchs.The answer is to hold a Great Council to give a theological interpretation and refinement to the documents.
The Metropolitan refused to sign the document "Relations of the Orthodox Church..." as he feels the Council was not a council of bishops,but of Primates and their entourages.The document contains a number of questionable assertions and wasn't ready for signing,according to Metropolitan Hierotheos.

Extraordinary Statement From Alexandria Charts Progressive Course For Orthodox Christianity - Deaconesses approved

With one stroke of the pen,as it were,the Patriarchate of Alexandria has opened up new vocational vistas for Orthodox Christian women;confirmed the validity of the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church;affirmed the sovereign power of the local Church over its own affairs;and endorsed the continuation along the ecumenical path established by the Ecumenical Patriarchate in the twentieth century.Consider these excerpts from the official account of this Church's recent Holy Synod meeting presided by His Beatitude Pope and Patriarch Theodoros II of Alexandria and All Africa:
The Holy Synod of the Alexandrian Throne met from 15-17 November at the Holy Patriarchal Centre of Alexandria.
The Alexandrian Patriarchate #8211 18/11/16
1.We express glory and praise to the Triune God,who deemed us worthy to participate in the Holy and Great Synod of the Orthodox Church last June.
2.The Synod in Crete was an extremely important event for the course of the Orthodox Church as it gave testimony of unity,testimony of responsibility and anxiety for the contemporary world.It was,is and will remain as a great miracle of "meeting and coexisting for this" for the Orthodox Churches and we believe that this new experience will gradually be decoded and will yield new fruits in the Orthodox world.Blessed are they who will taste of this fruit!
3.It confirmed that conciliarity is the pre-eminent expression of the ecclesiological consciousness of the Orthodox Church and at the same time is a dynamic response to the ardent preachers of introversion,exclusivity,racial prejudice and fundamentalism.We believe that in the near future,at the Synods which God willing will follow,imperfection and weaknesses of this Synod will be overcome.
4.We wholeheartedly thank the Most Holy President of the Great and Holy Synod,Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomaios,their Beatitudes the Primates and all who worked tirelessly for the realisation of the Synod amidst many adversities and challenges.
5.We consider as particularly important the conciliar consolidation of the ecclesiastical dispensation amidst various extremist and conservative positions,as opportunity is given to local churches to exercise their pastoral work in real time and in the particular sites and conditions.However,with regret we found that,despite the prophetic voices which were heard in the Synod and those during the pre-Synodal conferences,timidity and reluctance to understand "deviations" from earlier settings of the life of the Church as accuracy and not as dispensation,although this would have been the true affirmation of the mystery of Christ's incarnation today,in other words the living and salvific Revelation of God.The differing approaches to life in the Church are no deviations for us from Orthodox truth,but adaptation to African reality.
6.The Church of Africa will continue to participate actively in all the official inter-Christian and inter-religious dialogues,despite whichever difficulties and problems which arise from time to time.Besides our participation in the World Council of Churches,we are upgrading our activity in the Pan-African Council of Churches.At every moment we should humbly submit our testimony of the Orthodox faith,the fullness of Orthodox revelation which our Church preserves.Walking in the footsteps of Jesus,we must become instruments of reconciliation and to cultivate the peaceful coexistence of people,respecting and defending their national,racial and religious diversity.Together with the other Churches and Religions,we are called to work towards combating every systemic injustice,anything demonic,in whatever form it appears,which nullifies the lives of the critically injured and bleeding in our flock.
7.We feel that as a living and dynamic Church,we are emerging from within a growing and long-suffering world,we have a duty with courage and prophetic vision to formulate within ourselves the conditions for recruitment and the transformation of our world,and to place a proposition for hope,and life throughout it for all people,as well as resurrectional joy.We ask for the fervent prayers of the Body of our Church,clergy and laity,so that with the cooperation of everyone to build on the momentum of the Great Synod and to liberate those powers that will show the Church of Africa to be a prophetic presence,fearing the Lord and always open to the surprising action of the Most Holy Spirit.*
Fasting in African reality:As far as the issue of fasting is concerned,the decisions of the Synod will be announced to all the people in the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate shortly,by Patriarchal Encyclicals.*
Regarding the issue of the institution of Deaconesses,it was decided to revive this and a tripartite committee of Hierarchs was appointed for a detailed consideration of the subject.

Ecumenical Patriarchate Responds to Ukrainian Parliament,Sends Representative to Meet With President Poroshenko

The Ecumenical Patriarchate is intensifying its involvement in the issue of Orthodox Church unity in Ukraine:
First,it has established a special synodal commission to examine the Verkhovna Rada,or Ukkrainian Parliament,appeal for the Ecumenical Patriarchate to grant autocephaly to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.In a previous appeal,which the Ecumenical Patriarchate did not respond to,the Verkhovna Rada recently asked His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew to issue a Tomos of Autocephaly and to recognise that the 1686 act transferring the Metropolitanate of Kiev to the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church in defiance of canon law was invalid.*
The good news for Ukraine is that "Orthodoxy without Moscow" (in light of the holding of the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church despite Moscow's non-attendance) can undertake a sober and serious consideration of Ukraine's bid for autocephaly,wrote Ukrainian columnist Andrew Sorokowski.*
Second,on 29 July 2016,the Ecumenical Patriarchate sent a representative,His Eminence Archbishop Job of Telmessos,to Kiev for a meeting with the President of Ukraine,Petro Poroshenko.Mr.Poroshenko said he was grateful that the Mother Church of Constantinople is now attending to the issue of a single national Orthodox Church,referring to the special commission set up to look into the proposal for Ukrainian autocephaly,according to the Presidential Press Office.The President assured Archbishop Job that the Ukrainian authorities are united in their aspiration for a single national Orthodox Church and noted that the given issue is becoming increasingly topical against the backdrop of global challenges.We should help the believers implement their aspirations on the single Church.*
For his part,Archbishop Job conveyed the greetings of His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and the entire Mother Church of Constantinople.He assured the President that the Ecumenical Patriarch wants to help Ukraine.The two then discussed the role of state and Church in the prevention of the use of the religious factor for destabilisation of the situation in Ukraine.The President said the task of the government was not to give opportunities to provoke inter-religious and inter-confessional conflicts and expressed satisfaction with the recent work of the law enforcement bodies.*
Mr.Poroshenko also congratulated the Ecumenical Patriarchate on the successful holding of the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church:
I think it has approved and strengthened the authority of His All-Holiness in the Orthodox world,Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko told the Patriarchal representative,His Eminence Archbishop Job of Telmessos.*
There are currently three Orthodox jurisdictions in Ukraine,the largest of which,and the only one of which is recognised by the other Orthodox Churches,is under the primacy of Metropolitan Onufry of the Patriarchate of Moscow and All Russia.The other two jurisdictions desire autocephaly.

What's Happening Inside the Holy and Great Council:Day 3

On Wednesday,22 June 2016,the third day of the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church began with a Divine Liturgy presided by His Holiness Patriarch Irinej of Serbia at the Sacred Patriarchal and Stavropegial Monastery of Gonia in Kolymvari,Crete.Then the heirarchs held the sixth through eighth sessions of the Council,according to the Ecumenical Patriarchate's Press Release.
Session VI:The heirarchs continued their discussion of the Orthodox Diaspora.
Session VII:They focused on Autonomy and the Means by which it is Declared.
Session VIII:They reviewed The Importance of Fasting and its Observance Today.*
After extensive discussion,various suggestions and clarifications were proposed by the Primates and by individual heirarchs of the local Autocephalous Orthodox Churches.It is expected that revised texts that have been accepted by the Council will be signed shortly.*
The Council meetings will continue through 25 June and it will conclude with a Divine Liturgy on 26 June.
A constructive and irenic tone is reportedly prevailing in the sessions.The Patriarchate of Serbia has dismissed the notion that it would walk out of the Council.It can safely be said that the worst fears of those who failed to attend this historic week in the life of the Church are not being realised.

Pan-Orthodox Council Begins Tomorrow as Scheduled

On the eve of the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church in Chania,Crete,the Ecumenical Patriarchate continues to insist it will begin with the Orthros and Divine Liturgy of Pentecost on Sunday morning 19 June 2016;and that its decisions will be binding on all Orthodox Christians,regardless of whether their Primates and delegations are present or not.Four Churches,those of Antioch,Russia,Georgia and Bulgaria,have suddenly reversed their course of more than two years and now decline to attend.They express an odd assortment of concerns,from seating arrangements to the way the Council was prepared.*
Because all 14 Primates and their Churches approved by consensus of the convening of the Council and promised to attend it as early as March 2014,their withdrawal,though painful to those who are attending,does not change the Pan-Orthodox validity of the Council or the Pan-Orthodox authority of its decisions,said Very Rev.Dr.John Chryssavgis,Archdeacon of the Ecumenical Throne.*
Although some Church leaders from certain regions are absent,Eastern Europe is still represented by His Holiness Patriarch Irinej of Serbia;His Holiness Patriarch Daniel of Romania;His Beatitude Metropolitan Sawa of Warsaw and All Poland;and His Beatitude Metropolitan Rastislav of the Czech Lands and Slovakia and their delegations;while the Middle East and Africa are still represented by His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem and All Palestine and His Beatitude Patriarch Theodoros II of Alexandria and All Africa and their delegations.Hundreds of bishops and academics from all over the world will still be fully and vigorously participating in the prayerful deliberations of the historic event.More than 1,000 Orthodox Scholars from across the Orthodox Churches,including all the Churches that withdrew from the Council,have signed a petition urging full attendance of the event.

Crisis Builds as Pan-Orthodox Council Faces Last Minute Tussles

Two of the 14 autocephalous Orthodox Churches have threatened to stay away from the immanent Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church if their demands aren't met;however,they remain open to negotiations.If even one Orthodox Church failed to attend the Council,it would lose its legitimacy as an historic event and so would have to be postponed at the very least.*
.The Church of Bulgaria is dissatisfied with such things as the seating arrangements at the Council.At the same time,the Church of Antioch is displeased by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople's plan for a conference to resolve jurisdictional conflict between Antioch and the Church of Jerusalem immediately after the Council,rather than before it,as Antioch desires.
The Church of Georgia wants to amend the proposed Council document on Marriage and the Impediments to it.
*
The very fact of these late hour problems emerging shows how critical it is to hold this Council.The distance between the local Churches has become wider than perhaps was realised to this point,after so many centuries without a large assembly of all the Orthodox Christian Churches.*
At a meeting of the Russian Orthodox Church's Holy Synod on 3 June 2016,it was proposed:
1.that the way out of the present emergency situation could be found in holding an extraordinary Pan-Orthodox Pre-Council conference to address the present situation and examine the amendments to the Council's documents presented by Orthodox Churches with the aim to work out agreed proposals;
2.that considering the great amount of work and the importance of problems raised,such a conference needs to convene urgently,no later than on 10 June 2016,so that on the basis of its resolution the Orthodox Churches could make a decision as to the possibility of convening the Pan-Orthodox Council at the stated date;
3.that His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia address His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew with an appropriate proposal;
4.and that the proposals be immediately sent t the Primates of the Local Orthodox Churches.*
The Council is scheduled to be held at the Orthodox Academy of Crete from 19-26 June in Kolymbari,Chania.

Arrival of Archbishop Irenaios of Crete on Santorini

His Eminence Archbishop Irenaios of Crete arrived on the Greek island of Santorini on 27 May 2016.You may view an exceptional video of the event on Twitter @Businessblogger.
The Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church will take place at the Orthodox Academy of Crete in Chania from 19-27 June.Crete is under the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate,not the Church of Greece.The much admired Archbishop Irenaios has been selected as a member of the Ecumenical Patriarchate's delegation to the Council.

Major Orthodox Theological Institute Supports Holy and Great Council - resolution passed

Following discussions held at its Assembly held on 18 May,2016,the School of Pastoral and Social Theology of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki,Greece,issued a resolution saluting the decision to convene the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church on the Feast of Penetecost (18-27 June,2016),now less than a month away,at the Orthodox Academy of Crete,Kolymbari,Chania,Crete,and praying for the fruition of its works.
The School goes on to say:
after an interlude of several centuries,the Synodical Institution is being restored,on a Pan-Orthodox level,by the "dutiful responsibility" of the Ecumenical Patriarchate as the presiding Church and in cooperation with all other Patriarchates and Autocephalous Churches,especially their Primates.This event fills all with joy and hope,with regard to the witness of Orthodoxy in the contemporary world.*
The School then notes the following:
1.By the convocation of the Council the unity of the Orthodox Church is affirmed and,in great measure,insularity is overcome,which over the last few centuries,principally on account of ethno-phyletism,threatened ecclesiastical unity and troubled the Orthodox Church.
2.Thus,a response is offered to the accusation that the Orthodox Church is unable to function synodically on a Pan-Orthodox level and that the Synodical Institution,this fundamental ecclesiological principle,has in some way been debilitated over the last few centuries,a claim that is inaccurate.
3.The local Orthodox Churches are proceeding with decisiveness towards greater Pan-Orthodox cooperation in order to contend with lasting pastoral,social,canonical problems,such as that of the Orthodox Diaspora,marriage,and other issues noted in inter-Orthodox and inter-Church deliberation.As it stands before these new challenges,which in many ways are currently putting ecclesiastical discourse to the test,it is of utmost necessity for the primary,Pan-Orthodox,synodical instrument to make responsible decisions.
4.Inasmuch as the Orthodox flock has,at present,spread throughout the world,proper pastoral concern must be expressed through innovative and appropriate synodical decisions.The competent pastors of the Church cannot remain indifferent to these new problems,structures and challenges (ethics,bioethics).
5.Hence,with the Holy and Great Council,a new beginning is inaugurated,which we hope and pray will continue.Moreover,His All-Holiness,the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew,himself publicly announced as much at the last Synaxis of Primates.For many decades,from the beginning of the twentieth century until today,the expression of the Synodical Institution,as both a theological principle and ecclesiastical practice,has been renewed.
We as responsible academics,are all obligated to assist the Church in her work because this is precisely how we express theology,not only as an academic vocation,but as ministry (diakonia) to the living ecclesiastical community,as it is implied and elucidated in the contemporary world.
With greetings in the Risen Christ,we pray for the success of the Council.
On behalf of the Faculty Assembly of the School of Pastoral and Social Theology,
The President
Professor Konstantinos P. Chrestou

Metropolitans Emmanuel and Ilarion Address Theological Institute on Pan-Orthodox Council

This June's Great and Holy Council of the Orthodox Church was the topic of a seminar at Sts.Cyril and Methodius Theological Institute of Postgraduate Studies,Moscow on 11 March.Leading the discussion were His Eminence Metropolitan Emmanuel of France,Ecumenical Patriarchate;and His Eminence Metropolitan Ilarion of Volokolamsk,Chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate's Department of External Church Relatind rector of the Institute.Other participants included Metropolitan Arseniy of Istra,Patriarchal first vicar for Moscow;Bishop Feofilakt of Dmitrov,abbot of St.Andrew's Monastery,Moscow;Archimandrite Alexander Pihach,representative of the Orthodox Church in America to the Moscow Patriarchate;Mr.Andrei Shiskov,secretary of the Synodal Biblical and Theological Commission;Archimandrite Seraphim Shemyatovsky,representative of the Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia to the Moscow Patriarchate;and Mr.Vladimir Katasurov,head of the Chair of Philosophy at the Institute.*
The Council will show the unity of Orthodoxy to the world,Metropolitan Emmanuel said.One of the most important items on the agenda will be the situation in the Middle East and the plight of Christian communities in the region,now facing elimination.It is a humanitarian tragedy,a tragedy of the historical and civilization scale.This situation was the central item on the agenda of the recent meeting between Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia and Pope Francis in Havana,Cuba,Metropolitan Emmanuel pointed out.*
As to the Orthodox Church's social and demographic context today,Metropolitan Emmanuel noted that the number of people professing the Orthodox faith has increased dramatically in the past century.According to a survey by the College des Bernardins,the number of Orthodox Christians in the world has increased from 124,923,000 in the early 20th century to 274,447,000 in 2010.*
For his part,Metropolitan Ilarion said the preparation of the Council lasted 55 years.It is a very long period.One may ask why it took so long to prepare the Council.We can present many reasons for that,both intra-church and geopolitical.However,the fact that the date of the Council is approaching makes us think that Divine Providence guided our Church in such a way that the Pan-Orthodox Council was not convened earlier,but is to be held now.
This also obtained for the meeting of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia and the Pope of Rome.The meeting was scheduled for 1997;its venue and date were fixed;yet the meeting did not take place.Later frequent attempts were made to resume the preparatory process,but at last the meeting between the Primates was held.We see the Divine Providence showing us the right time and venue for such historic meetings.*
Quite likely,we will not make some epoch-making decisions that will resound throughout the world.Yet,we will make our decisions to conform with the centuries-old teaching of the Holy Orthodox Church and the aspirations of our believers.These will be decisions disputed by no one,Metropolitan Ilarion told the seminar attendees.*
In his encyclical for Holy and Great Lent,His Eminence Metropolitan Evangelos of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of New Jersey,Ecumenical Patriarchate,asked his flock to pray during this period for the Council.This is a historic event in the life of our Church and we should all pray for its success.Its success not only means reaching agreements on various ecclesiastical issues,but also showing that Christ gave His life for "the life of the world."Let us pray for the Holy and Great Council.Let us pray for His All-Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew,whose mission in the service of Orthodox Unity is essential for the mystery of communion.By our common prayer we all become participants in this spiritual kairos as a way of glorifying our loving God.
May this Holy and Great Lent bring you many blessings,love,humility,patience and all of the virtues that we need for our salvation,and may we journey together to our Lord's glorious Resurrection with joy,praying for each other and those in need,Metropolitan Evangelos concluded.



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Chania,Crete To Host Pan-Orthodox Council

It has been decided by the preparatory meeting of the Primates and Delegations of the 14 autocephalous Orthodox Churches in Chambesy,Switzerland that the Orthodox Academy of Crete in Chania will be the site of the Great and Holy Council of the Orthodox Church from 16-27 June 2016.The Orthodox Academy is a conference center with tasteful modern architecture and only a short walk from the sea.It is next to the 17th century Gonia Monastery and a ten minute walk from the fishing village of Kolympari.
Chania,the second largest city on the Greek island of Crete,is the capital of Chania prefecture and 39 kilometers from an international airport.*
On Pentecost Sunday,19 June,the Panegyrical Divine Liturgy will be concelebrated by His All-Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew and the Primates in the Cathedral Church of St.Menas in Herakleion.*
In his address to the meeting,His Beatitude Theophilos III,Patriarch of Jerusalem and All Palestine,said in Greek that the purpose of Our Synaxis is truly holy and sacred,the completion of the work that was commenced a long time ago by Our Fathers,namely the study,review and resolution of vital issues and problems facing Our Flocks and Our fellow human beings across the world.
Therefore,Our Synaxis provides testament to Our unity in Christ "through the bond of peace" (Ephesians 4,30) and consolation to Christians,persecuted in the Middle East and other parts of the world,as well as moral strengthening for contemporary man,tested and tortured by political disunity and divisions,by the economic and moral crisis and by arbitrary and unprecedented hideous crimes against innocent souls.
Therefore,placing Our trust in the education,construction and salvation of the souls of Our rational flocks,we have by the Lord Himself the authority,in the upcoming Great Pan-Orthodox Synaxis,arranged by the Synaxis of the Primates in Constantinople in March 2014,to rule on the issues that have been unanimously agreed upon and on those on which unanimity has not been reached,and assign them for further study and resolution,His Beatitude noted.

Pan-Orthodox Council Moved From Constantinople,Preparatory Meeting Decides

At the ongoing preparatory meeting for the Great and Holy Council of the Orthodox Church in Chambesy,Switzerland,a major decision has already been made.The Council,planned for June 2016,has been moved from Constantinople (Istanbul) to the Greek island of Crete.This is to accommodate the position of the Russian Orthodox Church,largest of the 14 autocephalous Orthodox Churches,which would not be able to attend a council in Turkey because of the current poor state of relations between Russia and Turkey.*
In other developments,His Holiness Patriarch Daniel of Romania said in an address to the meeting that he would like to see Pan-Orthodox synods held regularly every five,seven or ten years in order to deal with issues that weren't resolved at a previous synod,or to deal with new problems facing the Church,such as the current refugee crisis in Europe.*
In his address to the meeting,His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia said that the Holy and Great Council is called to become a visible,clear and convincing testimony to the unity of the Orthodox Church.And we realise that the Council can become such only if it reflects the true unanimity of the Local Orthodox Churches.It is for the sake of this unanimity that we all are to work hard together in the pre-Council period.
The unresolved topics are not due to real disagreements among the Local Orthodox Churches,His Holiness stated,but to the flawed methodology of the pre-conciliar process.*
The preparatory meeting is being held at the Orthodox Centre of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Chambesy,Geneva canton,Switzerland and runs through 28 January.Sunday Divine Liturgy was held in the Centre's Church of St.Paul and was concelebrated by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and the Primates or Heads of Delegations of the autocephalous Churches.Languages used in the service included Greek,Arabic,Old Church Slavonic and French.*
His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem and All Palestine is among the Primates attending the meeting.His advisor,Mr.Theodoros Yangou,Professor of Canon Law at the Faculty of Theology of the Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki,is also a member of the Jerusalem Patriarchate's delegation.

Preparatory Meeting for Pan-Orthodox Council Called (Revised and Updated)

His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew will chair a meeting of delegations from the 14 autocephalous Orthodox Churches at the Orthodox Centre of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Chambesy,Switzerland from 21-28 January.The meeting is to make final preparations for the Great and Holy Council of the Orthodox Church,which is scheduled to begin on Orthodox Pentecost Sunday,19 June 2016,at Haghia Irene,the ancient Church of St.Irene,in Constantinople (Istanbul).The rules of the Council must be finalised and any other remaining issues resolved.The meeting will evaluate and validate the texts to be proposed for approval at the Council.
Among those in attendance at Chambesy are Archbishop Demetrios of America;Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia;and Patriarch Daniel of Romania.Metropolitan Sawa of Poland and Patriarch John X of Antioch and All the East could not attend for health reasons;while Archbishop Ieronymos II of Athens and All Greece could not come for personal reasons.All Churches have sent authorised delegations,however.The primates will concelebrate the Sunday Divine Liturgy.
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew is being advised by theologians Metropolitan John of Pergamon and Metropolitan Emmanuel of France.He proposed that the length of the Great and Holy Council be two weeks and that a range of people,including representatives of the Orthodox clergy and laity,as well as media and non-Orthodox ecumenical observers,be invited to the Council.*
The Council has been many decades in the making.It will seek to convey the Orthodox Church's message to the modern world at large,as well as work to normalise her internal affairs and guide her external relations with other Christian churches and other religions.

Patriarch Bartholomew Outlines the Pan-Orthodox Council at Scholars' Meeting

During a meeting with 30 scholars at the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Constantinople from 4-5 January,reflections and responses were solicited from the heads of Orthodox seminaries and institutions;professors in non-Orthodox institutions;theologians serving in mission,religious education and publishing;and scholar-practitioners in the natural and social sciences,human rights and social justice,in order to become better acquainted with their interests and aspirations for the Church,especially in the light of the Holy and Great Council,and strengthen the bonds between the hierarchal ministry and lay diakonia.
Indeed,on the afternoon of 5 January,there was an open discussion on the preparations for the Holy and Great Council.His Eminence Senior Metropolitan John of Pergamon chaired two extensive sessions and addressed the participants,engaging in wide-ranging discussions with them about the goals,challenges and opportunities of the Council.
Among those participating were His Eminence Metropolitan Gennadios of Sassima;Father John Behr of St.Vladimir's Seminary,USA;Will Cohen,Scranton University,USA;Konstantinos Delikostantis,Athens University,Greece;Tamara Grdzelidze,Vatican City,Italy;Nathan Hoppe,Resurrection Seminary,Albania;Philip Kariatlis,St.Andrew's Theological College,Australia;Dionysios Skleris,Sorbonne University,France;and Gayle Woloschak,Northwestern University,USA.*
We will convene the Holy and Great Council this year on the Feast of Pentecost (June 19),bringing together all of the Orthodox Autocephalous Churches in order to meet in the same place (in the Church of Haghia Irene,where the Second Ecumenical Council was held in 381) and to deliberate with one mind on issues that the Church has confronted in more recent times,His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew said in his address to the scholars on 5 January.We will address internal issues on the unity and administration of the Church,but also matters such as relations with other churches and other faiths,in order to present a unified voice and credible witness for the life of the world.In this regard,we invite the support of pious Orthodox scholars,who are concerned about the unity of our Church and its role in the public square,where there are so many competing opinions and where the word of Orthodoxy can contribute positively and constructively through dialogue.Our faith should not be regarded as stagnant or even obsolete.It must not be conveyed as verbose or perhaps artificial.And it cannot be dismissed as merely cerebral or uninspired.Our word must express the hope and joy,the light and life of the risen Lord.It must be renewed and renewing,reviving and refreshing.That is how the Holy and Great Council must speak to the whole world.That is how we are all called to minister,even after the Great Council takes place,Patriarch Bartholomew told the scholars gathered at the Phanar in Istanbul,Turkey just a short while ago.

Preparations for the Pan-Orthodox Council Move Ahead

Preparations for the Great and Holy Council of the Orthodox Church,to be held in 2016, are continuing in Athens,Greece.The Special Inter-Orthodox Committee for the Preparation of the Pan-Orthodox Council convened in Athens on 16 December and will wrap up the session on 18 December.Under the leadership of His Eminence Metropolitan John of Pergamon,Ecumenical Patriarchate,representatives of the autocephalous churches are drafting the procedural rules of the Great and Holy Council.
Among those attending the Athens meeting are several hierarchs,including:
Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk,chairman of the Department of External Church Relations,Moscow Patriarchate;
Metropolitan Emmanuel of France,Ecumenical Patriarchate;
Metropolitan Basilios of Akkar,Patriarchate of Antioch;
Bishop Irinej of Backa,Patriarchate of Serbia;
Metropolitan Chrysostomos of Peristerona,Orthodox Church of Greece;
Archbishop Aristarchos of Constantine,Jerusalem Patriarchate;
and Metropolitan John of Korce,Albanian Orthodox Church.
The Great and Holy Council has long been a cherished dream of many,but it is safe to say it is now well on the way to realisation.