Browsing: Governance & Unity News

Source: Press Office of the Holy and Great Council CRETE — Following a doxology and morning prayer service, His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew convened the Synaxis (gathering) of the Primates of the local autocephalous Orthodox Churches. This meeting was scheduled in January 2016 to provide the Primates the opportunity to review a draft of the Council’s Message, review the Council’s agenda, and address outstanding matters. During their deliberations, the Primates acknowledged that they are pained by the absence of the Patriarchate of Antioch, and the Churches of Russia, Bulgaria, and Georgia. They expressed their prayers that the Holy Spirit would inspire…

Source: Orthodox Christian Laity Interview of Rev. Dr. John Chryssavgis by Gayle E. Woloschak, Ph. D Congratulations to the Patriarchate for convening the meeting.   In this age of communication we hope that this is the first of yearly meetings of the Patriarchs or their representatives.  Why not propose that the Orthodox Patriarchs set up a Secretariat where all of them employ their representatives to work on matters on a daily basis.   The world would know where they can call the Orthodox Church and the Church will not be seen as fragmented?  One of the anticipated goals of this Council is…

Source: Press Office of the Holy and Great Council Several events of the Holy and Great Council, an historic gathering for the Orthodox Christian Churches and the first of its kind in 1200 years, are available to the public via livestreaming. The following events will be available at https://www.holycouncil.org/live at the listed times in local Crete (UTC +3): Sunday, June 19, 8:00 — Orthros and Divine Liturgy of Holy Pentecost Monday, June 20, 11:00-14:00 — Opening Session of the Holy and Great Council Saturday, June 25, 17:00-19:30 — Closing Session of the Holy and Great Council Sunday, June 26, 8:00…

Source: Press Office of the Holy and Great Council His All-Holiness the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew highlighted the importance of the Holy and Great Council at an official dinner hosted 16 June by Nikos Kotzias, minister of foreign affairs for the Hellenic Republic, for the Primates of the Orthodox Church who are presently in Crete.  His All Holiness emphasized that the “world is turning its attention with great expectations to the Orthodox Church, the ark of the pure Christian tradition, in order to find support and consolation, because Orthodoxy has managed to preserve, up to today, regardless of the rapid technological…

Source: Bloomberg View By Leonid Bershidsky Pope Francis’ enormous popularity — his Twitter accounts in different languages have a total of about 30 million followers, about as many as Bill Gates and more than Adele — is a consequence of his openness to diversity and a softer approach to dogma. He represents a modernized Catholic Church. By contrast, the world’s second biggest Christian denomination is proving so resistant to modernization that its plans to adopt some timid changes for the first time since the year 787 have fallen through. The Pan-Orthodox Council that is scheduled to begin on Crete this weekend…

Source: Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America CHANIA, Crete (Greece) – The people, the island and the Church of Crete welcomed warmly His-All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew who arrived in Chania International Airport yesterday, June 15 to convene the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church, which will take place June 19-26. At hand for the welcome were His Eminence Archbishop Irinaios of Crete, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Greece Yiannis Amanatidis, the Governor of Crete Stavros Arnaoutakis, the Chief of Protocol Ambassador Aghi Balta, high ranking officers of the Armed Forces, local officials and clergy. Upon his…

Source: Press Office of the Holy and Great Council The Primates of the Orthodox Church arrived in Crete on June 16, 2016, to carry out their sacred mission, the convocation of the Holy and Great Council. They expressed their gratitude to the Greek people for hosting this historic meeting.  The Holy and Great Council will be held at the Orthodox Academy of Crete. The Orthodox Primates decided five months ago in Geneva, during their Synaxis, to realize a vision of many years and proclaim the unity of the Orthodox Church.  As His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel of Romania arrived in Crete,…

Source: Press Office of the Holy and Great Council On 16 June, leaders of the Orthodox Churches continued to arrive in Crete for the Holy and Great Council. His Beatitude Archbishop of Athens and All Greece, Ieronymos, stated this afternoon at the airport of Chania, Crete, that His Beatitude Patriarch of Jerusalem Theofilos, His Beatitude Patriarch of Serbia Irinej, and His Beatitude Archbishop of Albania, Anastasios, have all arrived, in order to participate in the Holy and Great Council, fulfilling a great mission. “We will make every effort to see to and approach the problems of all the world, of our…

Source: Ecumenical Patriarchate The arrival of His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew at Chania airport for the Holy and Great Council in Crete. His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew arrives at Chania airport in Chania, Crete accompanied by members of the Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and Archbishop Demetrios, Geron of America, for the Holy and Great Council. Στο αεροδρόμιο των Χανίων αφίχθη πριν από λίγη ώρα ο Οικουμενικός Πατριάρχης Βαρθολομαίος συνοδευόμενος από μέλη της Αγίας και Ιεράς Συνόδου του Οικουμενικού Πατριαρχείου και τον Αρχιεπίσκοπο Γέροντα Αμερικής κ. Δημήτριο. Ο Οικουμενικός Πατριάρχης Βαρθολομαίος θα προεδρεύσει των εργασιών της Αγίας…

Source: Pravoslavie.ru Alexandria – Theodoros II, the Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa, appealed to all Local Orthodox Churches to participate in the Pan-Orthodox Council on Crete, reports Sedmitsa.ru, with reference to Romfea. In an interview given to radio station 98.4, Patriarch Theodoros regarded as an historical Church Council that which is to take place in June 2016 on the island of Crete. The Alexandrian Patriarch stated that “the Orthodox Church should be far from political, national, and racial affiliations. “It’s impossible to imagine that it would be possible in the last minutes to not come to the Church Council, in…

Source: New York Times By ANDREW HIGGINS MOSCOW — After 55 years of preparation, a landmark effort to promote unity among the world’s 300 million Orthodox Christians turned into a showcase of disarray on Tuesday after the Russian church, the biggest of 14 Orthodox jurisdictions, announced that it would not take part in a historic conclave of church leaders scheduled to start this weekend. The gathering, known both as the Holy and Great Council and as the Pan-Orthodox Council, is scheduled to begin Sunday on the Greek island of Crete and to run through June 26. It had been under…

Source: Orthodox Christian Laity Heavenly king, Comforter, Spirit of truth, Who are present everywhere and fulfilling all things; Treasury of blessings and Source of Life: Come abide in us, Cleanse us of all stain And save our souls, O Good One. The members, friend and boards of Orthodox Christian Laity pray this prayer to the Holy Spirit along with our other prayers for positive results as the Holy and Great Council begins its deliberations with whoever is in attendance.  Be open to the Holy Spirit and work in synergy with the Holy Spirit.  The time to deliberate in a conciliar…