Antiochian Orthodox Media Center
The Synaxis of Primates of the Orthodox Autocephalous
Churches took place, following the invitation of His All-Holiness
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, at the Orthodox Center of the
Ecumenical Patriarchate in Chambésy, Geneva, Switzerland, from 21st to
28th January, 2016.
The Synaxis was presided by His All-Holiness Patriarch
Bartholomew of Constantinople, and attended by His Beatitude Patriarch
Theodoros II of Alexandria and All Africa, His Beatitude Patriarch
Theophilos III of Jerusalem and All Palestine, His Holiness Patriarch
Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, His Holiness and Beatitude
Catholicos-Patriarch Iliya II of All Georgia, His Holiness Patriarch
Irinej of Serbia, His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel of Romania, His
Holiness Patriarch Neofit of Bulgaria, His Beatitude Archbishop
Chrysostomos II of Cyprus, His Beatitude Archbishop Anastasios of Tirana
and All Albania, and His Beatitude Metropolitan Rastislav of the Czech
Lands and Slovakia.
Their Beatitudes Patriarch John X of Antioch and
Metropolitan Sava of Warsaw and All Poland were unable to attend for
health reasons. Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens and All Greece was not
able to attend the Synaxis. All the three Primates, however, were
represented by official delegations of their respective Churches.
The Delegations of Antioch was headed by His Eminence
Metropolitan Isaac of Germany and Central Europe, and included His
Eminence Silouan Metropolitan of the British Isles and Ireland, and
Protopresbyter Porphyrios Georgi, Dean of the Saint John of Damascus
Institute of Theology.
The Primates and heads of the delegations of Orthodox
Churches celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Stavropegic Church of St
Paul on January 24. The delegation of the Patriarchate of Antioch did
not participate in the Liturgy because of the interruption of
ecclesiastical communion with the Patriachate of Jerusalem over the
latter’s violation of the canonical and historic geographical
jurisdiction of Antioch.
During the Synaxis, the Antiochian delegation deployed
many fraternal efforts for the purpose of resolving the conflict with
the Patriarchate of Jerusalem without reaching any solution.
The Synaxis approved the document entitled “The Mission of
the Orthodox Church in the Contemporary World” and decided to withdraw
from the Agenda of the council the Item on the “The Matter of Common
Calendar”.
The Synaxis did not unanimously approve the document
entitled “The Sacrament of Marriage and its Impediments” following some
concerns raised by the Churches of Antioch and Georgia.
The two documents on the “Council’s Rules of Procedure”
and “the Decisions of the Synaxis of the Primates of the Orthodox
Churches (Chambesy, January 21-28, 2016)” did not enjoy the unanimity of
the Autocephalous Orthodox churches following some objections made by
the delegation of the Church of Antioch, and therefore were not
approved.
The Primates expressed their support for the persecuted
Christians of the Middle East and their ongoing concern for the
abduction of the two Metropolitans of Aleppo, Paul Yazigi of the
Patriarchate of Antioch and Gregorios Yohanna Ibrahim of the Syriac
Archdiocese.
Finally, the proposal to convene the Holy and Great
Council at the Orthodox Academy of Crete from June 16th to 27th, 2016
was communicated to the media.