Browsing: Governance & Unity News

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…

Source: Pravoslavie.ru by Athanasios Zoitakis Athonite monasticism has always stood on guard for the purity of Orthodoxy. Athonites have actively participated in the work of Church councils and came out against the unions of Lyons and Florence. Ecumenical contacts have repeatedly come under criticism from Athonites (letters to the Ecumenical Patriarchate, proclamations, reports of the Holy Kinot), however most Athonite monks throughout the whole history of the Holy Mountain have avoided zealous demonstrations and indiscriminate criticisms of the hierarchy. With filial respect and love and veneration Athonites have expressed their opinions, suggestions, and warnings, even ready, when danger hung over Orthodoxy,…

Source: Russia Today The landmark meeting of the heads of all Orthodox Christian churches could be postponed as five out of 14 churches have pulled out. The head of external relations at the Russian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Hilarion, explains the situation to RT. After decades of preparation, the historic Pan-Orthodox Council was scheduled for June 16-25 in Crete, but several churches have either refused to attend, or called for the event to be postponed, including the Antiochian, Bulgarian, Georgian and finally Russian. “There are many problems among various Orthodox Churches… These disagreements might seem small but, for historical churches, these…

Source: National Catholic Register NEWS ANALYSIS: Denying Catholics status as “Church” is only one point of controversy for the foundering pan-Orthodox Council. BY VICTOR GAETAN The Holy and Great Council of Orthodox patriarchs, meeting for the first time in 1,139 years, appears to be unraveling. June 19 — Pentecost Sunday for Eastern-Orthodox Christians — is when the Pan-Orthodox Council is scheduled to open at a theological academy on the island of Crete. But on June 1, leadership of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church announced the council should be postponed until numerous unspecified issues are addressed, from guest seating and procedures for…

Source: The National Herald By TNH Staff / Dennis Menos Amid all the speculation in the media concerning the upcoming Holy and Great Orthodox Council, and of the many opportunities and challenges that it will confront, it is only natural for Orthodox faithful to be hopeful but also apprehensive. Will the Council, is a question often heard, turn out to be Orthodoxy’s greatest moment in the modern era? What about the key issues that confront the Church? Will the Council be successful in resolving them and help guide the Church into a more productive tomorrow? With respect to the first question,…

Source: Change.org / A Plea for Pan-Orthodox Unity June 12, 2016 Feast of the Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council An Open Letter of the Orthodox Scholars around the World To the most venerable Primates of the Autocephalous Orthodox Churches Your All-Holiness and Your Beatitudes, We, the undersigned international group of Orthodox scholars, address this letter to the leadership of the Orthodox Church, to all Orthodox Christians around the world, and to all people of good will. We write out of profound concern for our Church, whose unity makes the new life in Christ visible to all humanity. We…

Source: Holy and Great Council Kolymvari, Crete, Greece – The Messaging Committee for the Holy and Great Council convened for the fourth day at the Orthodox Academy of Crete.  His Eminence Metropolitan Amphilohije of Montenegro, a senior Metropolitan of the Church of Serbia, presided this morning over the Divine Liturgy at the Patriarchal and Stavropegial Monastery of “Gonia”.  His Eminence Metropolitan Amphilohije explained to the congregation about the importance of the Holy and Great Council which will “gather in the same place” 20-25 June in the Orthodox Academy of Crete. He added that the Council will convene with the participation of…

Source: The National Herald By Theodore Kalmoukos BOSTON, MA – The Moscow Patriarchate’s Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, spoke with TNH about the Orthodox Church’s Holy and Great Council, scheduled to begin on June 16 in Chania, Crete. Essentially, Metropolitan Hilarion is first in ranking after His Beatitude Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia. The interview follows. TNH: Your Eminence, what are your thoughts about the upcoming Holy and Great Council? MH: The Holy and Great Council ought to be the most wide-ranging and representative of the Councils of the past thousand years. It was been in direct preparation for more…

Source: Holy and Great Council Kolymvari, Crete, Greece June 11, 2016 Orthodox Churches Plant Seeds for Unity Despite Tough Conditions Messaging Committee Convenes in Communion  The budding fruits of the upcoming Holy and Great Council began forming when the “Messaging Committee” convened. Τhe Messaging Committee is a gathering that expresses faith in collective roots despite a rocky history, which stretches across hundreds of years and unimaginably diverse cultures. The Orthodox Churches of the world are working together to unite perspectives of the Message, showing unprecedented collaboration by simply gathering to talk together at a table. His Eminence Metropolitan George of Paphos presided…

Source: Pravoslavie.ru by Met. Hierotheos Vlachos The Great and Holy Council, which is due to gather in June of 2016 in Crete, was “the expectation” of many whose vision it was, and who tired in order to prepare for it, and now the Council finally moves towards its convocation. The question here put forth is whether the Holy and Great Council really is the one awaited by those who originally envisioned it. Much has been written and said about this subject. Some express their joy, because the longed for hour has finally come. Others express deep concern, deep hesitation, and others…