June 12, 2016
The Sunday of the Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council
The Faculty of Holy Cross Greek Orthodox
School of Theology fully supports the coming Holy and Great Council of
the Orthodox Church to be held at the Orthodox Academy on Crete on June
16-27, 2016.
The Faculty affirms the importance of this Council for the
life and witness of the Orthodox Church in today’s world.
His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch
Bartholomew deserves much appreciation and gratitude for his selfless
and faithful devotion to the cause of Orthodox unity and Orthodox
witness to the Lord and His Gospel.
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew has
acted wisely and judiciously to strengthen the bond of unity and to
deepen conciliarity among the Autocephalous Orthodox Churches. He has
exercised his own responsibility as the first bishop of the Orthodox
Church while not intruding upon the proper responsibilities of other
primates or the integrity of the other Autocephalous Churches. In
consultation with other primates, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew has
led the Orthodox Church in addressing common challenges and in giving a
united witness to Christ and His saving Gospel.
More than fifty years ago, Ecumenical
Patriarch Athenagoras (+1972) envisioned a Council which would bring
together representatives from all the Orthodox churches to strengthen
the bonds of unity and to address critical issues facing the Church. He
realized that the conciliar tradition had been diminished. He saw that
the tragic events and political changes of the 19th century and the early decades of the 20th century contributed to isolation and divisiveness among the Autocephalous Orthodox Churches.
The first step in this conciliar process
was Patriarch Athenagoras’ decision to convene four Pan-Orthodox
Conferences between 1961 and 1968. At these meetings, the participants
began to identify topics of church life which deserved discussion and
common agreement. They began to respond together to the new challenges
of dialogue with other churches and confessions. These discussions
continued through the 1970s and 1980s. Orthodox bishops and theologians
from the Autocephalous Churches, actively participated in these
meetings. Eventually, they agreed upon ten topics to be thoroughly
studied in anticipation of a Holy and Great Council.
Not long after his election in 1991,
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew boldly began to strengthen the Orthodox
conciliar process by proposing and guiding meetings to increase
Pan-Orthodox engagements and discussions. Throughout this process, he
exercised his canonical responsibility to strengthen the unity of the
Church, to mediate disputes and to
propose topics for common study and resolution. He recognized that the
historic ‘primacy of honor’ accorded to the Ecumenical Patriarch by the
Church in its canonical tradition required that he exercise a
sacrificial leadership for the good and well being of the entire
Church. This ministry of service is “to maintain the unity of the
Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph. 2:3) among the Autocephalous
Churches.
Among his first actions, Ecumenical
Patriarch Bartholomew established a tradition of the Synaxis, a meeting
of the Patriarchs and Archbishops who head the Autocephalous Churches.
He recognized that a regular gathering of the primates of the
Autocephalous Churches would provide a distinctive opportunity to
celebrate together the Liturgy, and to discuss together the issues
facing the entire church and the world. He believed that Orthodoxy had
to speak with one voice about critical issues facing the Church and the
world.
There have been six meetings of the
primates since 1992. Patriarch Bartholomew has presided at each of
these. The most recent was held on January 21-28, 2016 at the
Patriarchal Centre in Chambésy-Geneva. At this meeting, the primates
unanimously agreed on the date for the Holy and Great Council. Among the
topics studied, they selected six to be presented at the Council.
These topics are: The Mission of the
Orthodox Church in the Contemporary World, The Orthodox Diaspora,
Autonomy and its Manner of Proclamation, The Sacrament of Marriage and
its Impediments, The Significance of Fasting and its Application Today,
and Relations of the Orthodox Church with the Rest of the Christian
World. Each of these topics has a position paper approved by a
pre-conciliar Conference.
In addition to convening the regular
meetings of the primates, the Ecumenical Patriarch has encouraged the
thorough discussions of these topics over the past twenty years in
Pre-Conciliar consultations and conferences. During this period,
faculty members from Holy Cross have been involved in these discussions.
Most recently, hierarchs, clerics,
theologians, and laity alike have been involved in multi-faceted
discussions regarding the Holy and Great Council and the six topics to
be addressed at the Council. These discussions have been conducted
within the confines of not only the holy synods of the Autocephalous
Orthodox Churches, but also in theological forums, on internet blogs, in
scholarly articles, and at numerous public lectures and discussions
throughout the world.
Here at Holy Cross, the faculty
sponsored three public gatherings with professors and students to
discuss the long and fascinating history of pre-conciliar activities,
the pre-conciliar documents themselves, as well as the impact and
importance of the Council for the Church today. Moreover, His Eminence
Archbishop Demetrios of America addressed our entire community on the
importance of the Holy and Great Council.
Orthodoxy is a conciliar Church.
Together with the great Ecumenical Councils of the first millennium,
there have been numerous regional councils which addressed significant
challenges facing the Church. The coming Holy and Great Council will be
consistent with this tradition of conciliarity. As a truly global
council, it provides a blessed opportunity for the bishops to pray
together, to meet together, and to address together critical issues
facing the Church.
We recognize that a number of
Autocephalous Churches and individual bishops have raised questions
about the content and the procedure of the Council. We are convinced
that these questions are best addressed within the context of the
Council and in subsequent gatherings, provided there is openness to the
guidance of the Spirit.
As a School of Theology, we respect both
the ecclesial tradition of faithfulness to the Church led by the Holy
Spirit who “will teach you everything” (John 14:26) and the academic
pursuit of open and critical dialogue. The conciliar ecclesiology of
the Orthodox Church demands that human freedom be expressed in a
personal manner, that is, through dialogue of those who are gathered in
Christ’s name. It is our firm belief that the Holy and Great Council
will provide an opportunity for the Church to manifest its unity to its
faithful and to the world, “for in the one Spirit we were all baptized
into one body” (1 Cor. 12:13).
Our ecclesial context in North America
relies upon Orthodox unity. The students whom we educate will serve
Orthodox parishes and faithful within a secular, non-Orthodox cultural
context that knows very little if anything about the Orthodox Church.
Pan-Orthodox unity, as expressed in conciliarity, is an important
witness to the Orthodox faithful whom we serve.
The faculty of Holy Cross resolutely
supports the convening of the Great and Holy Council. As stated in the
ordination service, we believe that the Holy Spirit which “completes
that which is lacking” will be present at this historic gathering and
will guide the Church. We pray that this same Spirit will guide the
participants at the Council and that the Holy Trinity will be honored
and glorified---Father, Son and Holy Spirit, now and forever and unto
ages of ages. Amen.