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Nicholas Denysenko, praytellblog.com
The Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church is now in session
on the island of Crete. Readers may have heard that the Churches of
Antioch, Bulgaria, Georgia, and Russia have withdrawn from the council.
The Church of Serbia expressed concerns about the process, but decided
to participate in the council. The Ecumenical Patriarchate has stated
that the decisions of the council will be binding for all Orthodox
Churches, regardless of their participation. Time will tell whether or
not the non-participating local Churches receive the conciliar
resolutions and declarations.
There is a great deal of literature about the council. Here is one of the best places
for updates and publications (including a few posts by yours truly).
Two of the best analyses of the drama leading up to the council are an
article co-authored by John Chryssavgis and Paul Gavrilyuk and an essay by Sergei Chapnin.
Yesterday, the Ukrainian Parliament issued an appeal
to Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, petitioning him to grant
autocephaly (absolute independence) to the Orthodox Church in Ukraine to
cease the process of Russian colonization of Ukraine. This petition was
followed by a moving appeal from Orthodox clergy and laity in Ukraine
expressing their support for the Parliament’s petition. The petition
added that Orthodox people who wished to remain in the jurisdiction of
the Moscow Patriarchate in Ukraine should retain that right, a move
which would establish canonical plurality in Ukraine and is designed to
facilitate peace, reconciliation, and compromise.
The Orthodox Church continues to contribute to our interesting times.
