Kolymvari, Crete, Greece
22 June 2016
22 June 2016
Ecumenical Patriarchate Press Release
CRETE—On the third day of the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox
Church, the Divine Liturgy was celebrated by His Beatitude Patriarch
Irinej of Serbia at the Sacred Patriarchal and Stavropegial Monastery of
Gonia. Afterward, the hierarchs continued their work in the sixth,
seventh, and eighth sessions of the Council.
In the sixth session, the hierarchs of the Council continued their discussion on The Orthodox Diaspora; in the seventh session, they focused on Autonomy and the Means by which it is Declared; and in the eighth session, they reviewed The Importance of Fasting and its Observance Today.
Following extensive discussion, various suggestions and clarifications
were proposed by the Primates and individual hierarchs of the local
Orthodox Autocephalous Churches. It is expected that revised texts that
have been accepted by the Holy and Great Council will be signed in the
coming days.
In the afternoon, His Eminence Archbishop Job of Telmesos delivered
an official news update on behalf of the Holy and Great Council. After
the comments made by Archbishop Job, official spokespersons of the
Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Patriarchate of Alexandria, the Church of
Romania, the Church of Cyprus, and the Church of Greece gave a common
press briefing, responding to questions from the press.
To view a recording of today’s press briefing visit https://www.holycouncil.org/
The Council continues meeting through June 25, concluding with the Divine Liturgy on June 26.
As they become available, photos for use without modification or alteration are available at https://www.orthodoxcouncil.