+ Anastasios
Archbishop of Tirana, Durres and All Albania
I am pleased to inform you about an important issue. This year, the
Holy and Great Synod of the Orthodox Churches will meet during the week
of Pentecost, and such an event has been long awaited for. To better
understand the present occurrences and the importance of the decision
for the meeting of the Holy and Great Synod, I will start with a summary
of the Church history in the first two millennia:
1.
In the first millennium, after gaining the freedom of religious
conscience and the issuance of the Edict of Milan by Constantine the
Great and Licinius, five main ecclesiastical centers were created which
were Rome, Constantinople or the New Rome, Jerusalem, Alexandria and
Antioch. With the development of Christianity various problems arose in
the local churches. Several threats of heresy and divisions came up. To
solve out such problems the Councils of Orthodox Bishops were called.
Some of the issues were local, but the most serious issues, especially
those dogmatic in character were dealt with by the Ecumenical Councils.
The emperor would gather the Ecumenical Synod but the head of the Synod
was always a well- known Patriarch. Thus the seven Ecumenical Councils
of the undivided Church of the first millennium were gathered.
At the beginning of the second millennium, the scary trial of schism
occurred between the West and the East (1054), which was an event that
created conflicts and delays in the spread of Christianity. In addition,
two administrative poles were created. Rome was in the west. But after
the Renaissance era (half of the 15th century), different protesting
movements appeared against the Church of Rome and gradually the
Protestant churches got established. In the East, the four early
patriarchates (Constantinople or the New Rome, Alexandria, Antioch and
Jerusalem) stayed united. Great trials resulted due to invasions by
Muslim populations. But at the same time, great development of Orthodoxy
was achieved in the North such as the Christianization of the Slavic
tribes, mainly in Russia. This endeavor began in the late first
millennium. The Russian people as a single body accepted Orthodox faith
and churches there continued the Byzantine missionary work in North
Asia. Thus a new church center was created, which was the Moscow
Patriarchate.
By the middle of the fifteenth century until the mid-nineteenth, the
Orthodox peoples of the Balkan Peninsula and Asia Minor lived under the
Ottoman Empire. After the gradual liberation of the peoples of the
Balkans, the Ecumenical Patriarchate gave the autocephaly to the Church
of Greece, Serbia, Romania and Bulgaria. In the twentieth century, it
gave the autocephaly to the Churches of Poland, Albania, the Czech Lands
and Slovakia, whereas the Georgian Church was recognized as a
Patriarchate. The Church of Cyprus gained its autocephaly after the
decision of the Ecumenical Synod.
Nowadays, the actual state of the Orthodox Church is as follows:
There are the early patriarchates of Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch
and Jerusalem, the later patriarchates of Russia, Serbia, Romania,
Bulgaria, Georgia as well as the Autocephalous Churches of Cyprus,
Greece, Poland, Albania, Czech-Slovakia. It is a total of 14
Autocephalous Orthodox Churches. The Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church
of the East maintained its unity, its common sacramental life,
especially the Divine Eucharist, the apostolic succession of its bishops
and kept unchanged the sources of faith, that is the Holy Scripture,
the Holy Tradition as well as the Apostolic Canons of the Synods. The
coordination center of the Orthodox Churches is still the Ecumenical
Patriarchate of Constantinople.
2.
After World War II, various Autocephalous Orthodox Churches faced a
series of persecutions by the atheist communist governments which took
power in their countries until their fall. After the Second World War
with the beginning of the Christian ecumenical movement, we, the
Orthodox, had the occasion to organize various meetings with other
Christians in several gatherings and conferences, and the common desire
to assemble in a Holy and Great Synod of the Orthodox strengthened even
more.
In 1960, in Rhodes, the first preparations for the Holy and the Great
Synod started and the main topics for discussion were decided. Later it
was agreed to build up several pan-orthodox commissions which would
deal with the issues at stake and formulate the pre-Synodic texts. Over
time, various problems arouse and delays in time led to skepticism,
ironic comments and doubts whether the Synod of the Orthodox Churches
would ever get realized. Fortunately, a very important event took place.
Several meetings of the Heads of the Orthodox Churches were held in
Constantinople in 1993, then in Jerusalem in 2000, in Constantinople,
2008, 2014. Particularly important were the meetings of 2008 & 2014
and the messages which were delivered in them.
In the Meeting of 2014, they decided for the Holy and Great Synod to
meet in Constantinople and more specifically, in the Church of St.
Irini, if nothing unexpected occurred. Also they set the rule that every
Autocephalous Orthodox Church must be represented by 24 bishops and
have the right of one vote. Eventually, the unexpected happened: the
tension of relations between Turkey and Russia due to the Russian
military plane crash. After this event, two options were left: either to
put off the Holy and Great Synod, or to gather in another country.
Finally, during the last meeting of the Heads of Churches in
Chambesy, Geneva, Switzerland (22 to 28 January 2016), it was finally
decided that the Holy and Great Synod be held during the Pentecost week
(19 to 26 June 2016), in Crete (Orthodox Academy of Crete, Kolymbari).
The Church of Crete is apostolic, autonomous and it is under the
Ecumenical Patriarchate; it is part of the European Union and provides
all the necessary conditions for the peaceful development of the Holy
and Great Synod.
The above decisions were not easy to make. Strong prayers were needed
as well as flexibility of thought, opportunities for the formulation of
ideas, and persistent efforts to convince those who had opposing ideas
or plans. Glory to God, the decision was finally made. It is necessary
that all of us, clergy and laity pray deeply for the pre-preparation and
well-going of the Synod. The Holy and Great Synod will be a blessing to
the whole Orthodox Church and to the Christian world in general. And by
being a blessing to the Christian world, it will serve as an important
step in the progress of the world.
(*) Recorded speech held at the Cathedral "Resurrection of Christ" in Tirana on Sunday, 31 January 2016