[Αnglican Νews by Gavin Drake] The long-planned Holy and Great Council of
the Orthodox churches is getting underway in Crete; despite the absence
of a number of churches over un-resolved differences.
The Archbishop of
Canterbury, Justin Welby, has urged Anglicans to pray for the gathering.
It is the first Holy and Great Council of the self-governing Orthodox
churches in more than 1,000 years. The last recognised Council took
place in AD787 before the Great Schism between the Orthodox and Roman
Catholic churches. Agenda planning for this month’s meeting has been
taking place for over half a century.
The Ecumenical Patriarch, His All Holiness Bartholomew, arrived in
Crete yesterday. Many more Primates and leaders of the Orthodox churches
arrived today for the historic meeting which is taking place at the
Orthodox Academy of Crete.
The World Council of Churches’ (WCC) general secretary, the Revd Dr
Olav Fykse Tveit, will join the gathered Primates and church leaders for
the Orthodox Pentecost celebrations on Sunday. The WCC report that
“Several churches recently decided not to attend the council, citing
unresolved issues with the planned documents brought for approval, as
well as other unresolved issues, though the situation remains fluid.”
Organisers have invited those churches unhappy with the meeting to
gather for a pre-conciliar meeting tomorrow before the Council formally
gets underway after Pentecost.
Items expected to be discussed during the meeting, which continues
until 27 June, include contemporary mission, marriage regulations,
fasting guidelines, the place of Orthodox churches outside their
historic venues, and ecumenical relations with non-Orthodox churches.
In a message to Anglican Primates earlier this year, Archbishop Welby
said that he had assured Patriarch Bartholomew of his prayers and asked
for Anglicans around the Communion to pray for the gathering. “At the
Primates’ meeting and gathering in Canterbury this past January, all of
us who were there were deeply aware of the prayers for our work not only
from Anglicans around the world, but also from our ecumenical friends,”
Archbishop Welby said. “The many messages and gestures of prayerful
support received from leaders and other Christians was one of the many
graces of that time in Canterbury.”
He continued: “I most respectfully request that you and Anglicans
around the world join me in prayer for the guidance and blessing of the
Holy Spirit upon the leaders of Orthodox Church. . . Remember them in
your daily prayers. Pray for them especially at the celebrations of the
Holy Eucharist in cathedral, parish, monastic and other communities.
Such prayer for one another is most effective, and is a profound
expression of love and solidarity within the Body of Christ.”