Browsing: Governance & Unity News

Source: Orthodox Christian Laity The Assembly of Bishops will meet during the first week of October in Detroit.  How will this meeting be different from all other such meetings?  Where is the leadership?  The work of the Holy and Great Council has been completed, and little action was taken to address the uncanonical situation of the parallel jurisdictions that make up the Orthodox Christian Church in the USA.  This situation is unacceptable, because it keeps our message, outreach and mission fragmented and wastes the resources of the lay stewards of the Church.  This fragmentation continues to cause a decline in…

Source: Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America This presentation is from Tuesday, July 5, 2016 at the 43rd Biennial Clergy-Laity Congress of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America in Nashville, TN. To learn more, visit https://www.clergylaity.org or http://www.goarch.org/.

Source: Orthodox Christian Laity I had prepared myself to go to Chania, Crete and see, as a reporter, the events and hear the commentary and behind-the-scenes events that would be part of the excitement and surroundings of this monumental historical event, the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church.    I sent in the information that was necessary to be approved as an observer.  The approval came.  I was excited about going.  I have been an advocate for the Council for 28 years.  In 1994, I was a member of a delegation sent to meet with His All Holiness Bartholomew. …

Source: Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East At the end of the seventh extraordinary session which begun on May 25th 2016, the Holy Synod of Antioch convened on June 27, 2016 in Balamand. The Synod was presided by His Beatitude Patriarch John X, with the participation of the Bishops of the Holy See of Antioch, The fathers congratulated their children on the occasion of the feast of Saints Peter and Paul, the holy, glorious and all-praised leaders of the Apostles, and the founders of the Holy See of Antioch. This See is where the disciples were called…

Source: OSV Newsweekly Member of the delegation of the Ecumenical Patriarchate hopes June’s meeting is the first in a series Michael Heinlein OSV Newsweekly July 5, 2016 Gathering Orthodox hierarchs from around the world, the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church wrapped-up on the Greek island of Crete on June 26. In the works for over a century, the event was historic to say the least. But what did it accomplish? Our Sunday Visitor spoke with His Eminence Metropolitan Kallistos (Ware) of Diokleia — renowned Orthodox theologian, based in Oxford, England, and invited member of the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s…

Source: Deseret News By Tom Heneghan, Religion News Service The Russian Orthodox Church, whose boycott of a major summit of Orthodox Christian leaders in Crete last month threatened to slow down efforts to promote greater unity, has declared the meeting “an important event in the history of the conciliar process.” The church’s synod, in its official reaction to the June 20-26 Holy and Great Council, also said the meeting could not be called “pan-Orthodox” because four of the 14 independent Orthodox member churches did not attend. The Moscow Patriarchate, which represents between half and two-thirds of the world’s 300 million…

Source: Orthodox Ethos An “Open Letter” from Athonite Fathers to the Holy Community of the Holy Mountain of Athos is calling for an immediate convocation of the governing body of Mt. Athos in order to condemn the “false council” of Crete and cease the comemoration of the Patriarch of Constantinople on Mt. Athos. OVER 60 Hieromonk and monks, with a disciple of Saint Paisios, Elder Gabriel of the Kelli of St. Christodoulos (Holy Monastery of Koutloumosiou) at their head, have written an open letter to the Holy Community of Mt. Athos calling upon the Abbots to reject the Council in…

Source: Interfax Moscow, July 15, Interfax – The Council which took place in Crete on June 20-25 cannot be regarded as pan-Orthodox, the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church said in Moscow on Friday. “The Holy Synod determined that the Council, which took place in Crete, cannot be regarded as pan-Orthodox, and the documents it approved as expressing a pan-Orthodox consensus,” said the head of the Synodal Department for Church, Society and Media Relations Vladimir Legoyda, commenting on the results of a Synod meeting. The meeting attendees acknowledged that the Council, which was attended by abbots and hierarchs from…

Source: AMERICA – The National Catholic Review Council of Crete embraces outward-looking leadership During the week of June 19 on the island of Crete, the first global Orthodox Council to meet in more than 1,000 years—known as the “Holy and Great Council”—brought together more than 290 delegates, mostly bishops, representing 10 self-governing local Orthodox churches. I was privileged to serve as an external correspondent of the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s Press Office, headed by Rev. John Chryssavgis. Together with other members of my team, I lived through the dramatic events leading up to the council and was present at some conciliar sessions.…

Source: Crux Filipe Domingues July 9, 2016 SPECIAL TO CRUX Despite the fact that four of the fourteen independent Eastern Orthodox churches of the world opted not to show up, an expert on Orthodoxy insists that the “Holy and Great Council” in Crete in late June was significant, arguing that meeting together to hash out issues is part of the DNA of Orthodoxy. From June 19-26, leaders of ten of the fourteen “autocephalous,” or independent, Eastern Orthodox churches of the world met together on the island of Crete, marking the first time such a representative summit of Orthodox churches had…

Source: AMERICA – The National Catholic Review Paul L. Gavrilyuk Russia’s influence seen behind the scenes During the week of June 19, the leaders of the self-governing Orthodox churches worldwide gathered in council on the island of Crete. As the first global Council of the Orthodox Church in more than 1,000 years, this historic event promised to usher in a new era of conciliarity. I had a rare privilege of serving as an external correspondent for the Press Office of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, under the leadership of the Rev. John Chryssavgis. Together with other members of our team, I…

Source: In Communion by NICHOLAS SOOY By now, everyone has left Crete. Everything has been wrapped up. My skin, for its part in this, is a shade darker and a shade redder. The Council has ended. But the conciliar process has not. One of the phrases that is used in the Council documents is “liturgy after the liturgy.” This phrase is meant to capture the manifold ways in which prayer, love, and sacramentality are to shape the whole of life and the cosmos, and not just the experiences we have during liturgical services. After the liturgy each day at the Council,…