Small Synaxis of the Primates His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew presides this morning over the Small Synaxis of the Primates of the Autocephalous Orthodox Churches at the Orthodox Academy of Crete. Before the start of their meeting the Primates came together in prayer at the Patriarchal and Stavropegial Monastery of Gonia. Present are His Beatitude Patriarch Theodoros II of Alexandria and All Africa, His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem and All Palestine, His Beatitude Patriarch Irinej of Serbia, His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel of Romania, His Beatitude Archbishop Chrysostomos of Cyprus, His Beatitude Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens and all Greece, His Beatitude Metropolitan Sawa of Warsaw and All Poland, His Beatitude Archbishop Anastasios of Albania, and His Beatitude Archbishop Rastislav of Czech Lands and Slovakia. In the Small Synaxis, two Metropolitans from each Orthodox Church are assisting their respective Patriarchs. PHOTO: © GOA/DIMITRIOS PANAGOS
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 them to attend the Council.
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A website, www.orthodoxcouncil.org, provides background information on the Holy and Great Council, which is meeting in Crete June 16-27 and gathers hundreds of representatives from the autocephalous (internally self-governing) Orthodox Churches to discuss issues ranging from the mission of the Orthodox Church in the modern world and its relations with other Christian churches, to the importance of fasting and the sacrament of marriage.
