Source: Peter Anderson, Seattle USA
Pope Francis with all the Synod participants at the conclusion of the work of the General Assembly (VATICAN MEDIA Divisione Foto)
On October 26, 2024, the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops of the Catholic Church issued its Final Document on the subject, “For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, Mission.” At the present time, the Final Document is only available in Italian and can be read at https://www.synod.va/content/dam/synod/news/2024-10-26_final-document/ITA—Documento-finale-26.10.pdf . Official translations in other languages will be available in the near future. However, in the meantime, I have attached a Google English translation of the Final Document.
The Final Document is the culmination of a long process that began three years ago and included consultations at the diocesan, national, and continental levels. In a change from past practice, the voting participants at the General Assembly included not only bishops but also other religious and laypersons. The names of those participating in the Assembly are listed at https://www.synod.va/en/the-synodal-process/phase-2-the-discernment-of-the-pastors/the-second-sessionofthe-XVI-assembly1/list-of-participants.html. There were four non-voting “fraternal delegates” at the Assembly from the Local Orthodox Churches of the Byzantine Tradition. Although these delegates did not vote, they spoke during the Assembly. They were: Metropolitan Job of Pisidia (Ecumenical Patriarchate); Metropolian Gennadios of Libya (Alexandrian Patriarchate); Bishop Nektarije of London, Great Britain and Ireland (Serbian Patriarchate); and Metropolitan Iosif of Middle and Eastern Europe (Romanian Patriarchate). There were also four fraternal delegates from the Oriental Orthodox Churches. See the above link at pp.19-20.
In the past, Pope Francis has stressed that the Catholic Church can learn from the Orthodox and other Eastern Churches about synodality. On November 24, 2013, he stated in his Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium that “in the dialogue with our Orthodox brothers and sisters, we Catholics have the opportunity to learn more about the meaning of episcopal collegiality and their experience of synodality.” As recently as September 28, 2024, Pope Francis stated in a meeting with Belgium Jesuits: “The Easterners have not lost synodality; we have lost it.” https://www.laciviltacattolica.com/do-not-be-afraid/ Sadly, the final document says nothing about learning from the Orthodox or Eastern Churches about synodality. The word “Orthodox” is found nowhere in the 51-page document.
The question remains as to whether the final document brings the Catholic Church closer or further away from the Orthodox Church. During the first session of the Assembly last October, Metropolitan Job spoke and stated that “a synod is a deliberative meeting of bishops, not a consultative clergy-laity assembly.” He added: “In light of this, we could say that the understanding of synodality in the Orthodox Church differs greatly from the definition of synodality given by your present assembly of the Synod of Bishops.” https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255617/eastern-orthodox-synods-are-bishops-only-metropolitan-tells-delegates He did give some examples of lay participation in Orthodox decision-making, but these are exceptions. In the Final Document, the statement is made: “Encouraging the widest possible participation of the whole People of God in decision-making processes is the most effective way to promote a synodal Church.” See Paragraph 87. One could argue that the foregoing statement is closer to the Protestant model than the Orthodox model.
However, other aspects may bring the Catholic Church closer to the Orthodox Church. For example, normally, the assembly of the synod of bishops concludes with an Apostolic Exhortation issued by the Pope. The Exhortation becomes the authoritative document of the synod. However, on October 26, Pope Francis stated that he did not intend to publish such an exhortation. https://www.synod.va/content/dam/synod/assembly2024/document/2610/2024_10-26_CG17_SALUTO-SANTO-PADRE_ENG.pdf The Final Document of the Synod issued on October 26 thus becomes the authoritative document. This is consistent with the Orthodox practice where the decision of the synod is the authoritative document. Of particular interest to Orthodox is the section of the Final Document relating to the “Bishop of Rome.” This is found in paragraphs 130 – 139. Paragraph 134 discusses “decentralization.” Paragraph 135 states in part: “Before publishing important normative documents, the Dicasteries are urged to initiate a consultation of the Episcopal Conferences and corresponding bodies of the Eastern Catholic Churches.” With respect to this statement, I immediately think of Fiducia Supplicans, the declaration very recently issued by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of Faith covering the blessing of same-sex couples. If such a consultation had occurred, the strong opposition of the African and Eastern Churches conferences would have been apparent, and this may have affected the issuance of the declaration.
The Final Document does not include any of the major changes that many of the more conservative Catholics had feared. The Final Document also disappoints the more liberal Catholics and the more liberal media who had hoped for major changes. An interesting overview of this “soft landing” is found in an article by the Vatican expert journalist, John Allen. https://cruxnow.com/news-analysis/2024/10/in-the-end-pope-francis-steered-his-synod-toward-a-soft-landing
On a completely different subject, Professor Volodymyr Burega, vice-rector for scientific and theological work at the Kyiv Theological Academy (UOC), has written an outstanding article on the ideology “Russian world.” https://kdais.kiev.ua/event/17-10-2024-dopovid/ I have read articles by Professor Burega before and have been very impressed by his insights and accuracy. In this article, he traces the historic development of the ideology beginning in the 1990s. He acknowledges that the ideology is now used to justify the military aggression in Ukraine. He concludes: “And although Patriarch Kirill tried to give this ideology features of church teaching, it is quite obvious that the concept of “Russian world” has a completely different nature. In the speeches of Patriarch Kirill, the ideology of the “Russian world” turned into a so-called civil religion, which cannot be confused with divinely revealed teaching.” Although this is not a long article, it is the most informative article that I have read on “Russian world.” I highly recommend it.
The very pro-UOC website, Union of Orthodox Journalists, has just published a commentary severely criticizing as uncanonical the decision of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Holy Synod to remove Metropolitan Hilarion as head of the Donetsk diocese. https://spzh.live/ru/zashhita-very/82716-avtonomija-upts-i-smeshchenie-donetskoho-mitropolita This removal was discussed in my last newsletter. See https://www.unifr.ch/orthodoxia/de/dokumentation/anderson/ (26 Oct. 2024)
Finally, the Holy Synod of the Romanian Patriarchate issued a decision on October 25 providing as follows: “With regret, the Synod acknowledged the unjustified postponement by Ukrainian authorities of legal recognition for the “Romanian Orthodox Church in Ukraine” religious association despite its compliance with all applicable Ukrainian laws. The Synod approved continued efforts with central authorities in Romania and Ukraine to resolve this legitimate request.” https://basilica.ro/en/holy-synod-announces-2026-focus-on-family-pastoral-care-and-commemoration-of-holy-women-sets-plans-for-centennial-events/
Peter Anderson, Seattle USA
