cruxnow, Associated Pres
As a "Holy and Great Council" of the Orthodox churches gets underway in Crete, tensions between Moscow and Constantinople, and between liberals and conservatives, have marred the event, with four churches scheduled to attend pulling out at the last minute while others forge ahead.
MOSCOW - A historic attempt to bring together all leaders of the
world’s Eastern Orthodox churches for the first time in more than a
millennium has stalled after the powerful Russian church and three
others pulled out at the last minute over disputes ranging from the
seating plan to efforts to reconcile with the Vatican.
The Holy and Great Council, set to open Sunday on the Greek island of
Crete, was to be the first meeting of all Orthodox leaders since the
year 787, when the last of the seven councils recognized by both
Orthodox and Catholics was held.
The meeting is still on, but with the Russian Orthodox Church and three others staying away, its pan-Orthodox aura has faded.
Istanbul-based Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, considered “the
first among equals” since the time when Constantinople was the seat of
the Byzantine Empire, has been the main driving force behind efforts to
bring together the leaders of all 14 independent Orthodox churches.
The gathering, for which preparations began 55 years ago, was meant
to promote unity among the world’s more than 300 million Orthodox
Christians. But in recent weeks, differences that at first seemed minor
escalated as the date for the meeting approached.
The Rev. John Chryssavgis, a spokesman for Bartholomew, said the 10
patriarchs attending the council met Friday and issued a final plea
“even at the 11th hour” for the other churches to attend, saying
whatever issues they have will be examined.
But he added that the council will go on without them, and organizers
say the decisions made by the remaining 10 will be binding - a claim
certain to be rejected by Moscow and the others.
Russian Patriarch Kirill reiterated Friday that his church would not
attend, saying in a message to the council that he considered the Crete
gathering a preparatory session for a synod that will unite all the
churches “without exception.”
“Our prayers will be with you in the days of the work ahead of you,” he added.
The argument is certain to further fray the brittle relationship between many of the churches.
Unlike the Roman Catholics, the Orthodox churches are independent and
have their own leadership. They also have different priorities, with
some in recent years becoming more inward looking and nationalist, while
others have turned more liberal as they try to appeal to a more
globalized flock, which has been growing distant from what is perceived
to be a conservative faith clinging to centuries-old traditions.
The Council was to be an important step not only to show a unity of
cause, but to rekindle interest in the faith among an often disparate
community of believers scattered in small churches around the globe.
But at the heart of the matter is a struggle for spiritual influence
over the world’s Orthodox faithful between the large, rich and dynamic
Russian church, which represents more than 100 million faithful, and the
older but far smaller Ecumenical Patriarchate headquartered in
predominantly Muslim Turkey.
“The Russian Orthodox Church and the churches allied with it are on
the rise,” said Roman Silantyev, a Moscow-based scholar, and “can afford
to resist any compromise.”
Andrei Desnitsky, a Moscow-based author and commentator on religious
affairs, said the rift reflected long-running tensions between the
ecumenical patriarchate and Moscow.
“Any serious issues related to Orthodox policies reflect a soft
rivalry between the two patriarchates,” he wrote in a recent commentary.
One of the first disagreements was over seating. According to some
reports, the Russian church strongly opposed a plan for the ecumenical
patriarch to take a presiding seat during the council session, seeing it
as an attempt to promote primacy. Instead, Moscow and the Bulgarian
Orthodox Church reportedly insisted that the participants sit at a round
table.
While the seating issue was settled, other disagreements were more difficult to deal with.
The Bulgarian church was the first to drop out, citing a lack of
“particularly important” topics on the agenda, the seating plan, and the
handling of documents.
The Damascus-based Antioch Patriarchate said it would not attend
unless an ongoing dispute with the Jerusalem Patriarchate was resolved
ahead of the council. The two broke relations over the jurisdiction of
the Muslim Gulf state of Qatar. The Georgian Orthodox Church cited a
doctrinal issue to pull out.
Some observers say the three may have been influenced by the Russian
church. Because of an agreement that all council decisions should be
reached through consensus, the Moscow Patriarchate insisted on a
postponement, arguing that the absence of even a single church would
make that impossible.
Chryssavgis said Bartholomew could not postpone the council and unilaterally overturn the collective decision to meet.
“Bartholomew is not the pope, he can’t just decide,” he told the AP,
adding that it can’t be ruled out that the 10 churches present could
vote for a postponement when they gather.
Some in the Russian church have been deeply suspicious of the
ecumenical patriarch’s intentions, fearing that the council could pave
way to closer ties to the Vatican, Protestants and others, anathema for
conservatives in that institution.
“There are fears that the Orthodox will surrender their positions in
the face of the Catholics,” Silantyev said. “There are a certain number
of priests and some bishops who share that view.”
“It’s a confrontation between liberals and anti-liberals, and Constantinople represents the liberal side,” Silantyev added.
The “Great Schism” split Christendom in 1054 over the Vatican’s
power. Despite a landmark meeting between Pope Francis and the Russian
patriarch Kirill in Cuba, many in the Moscow Patriarchate and other
Orthodox churches do not want any rapprochement with the Vatican.
Some conservatives in the Russian church have been critical of
Kirill’s decision to endorse a set of compromise documents prepared for
approval by the council, including one on relations with other Christian
churches.
“The Russian church’s leadership has found itself in an awkward
position and preferred to dodge attacks for taking part in the project
initiated by its Constantinople rivals, posing instead as keepers of
Orthodox unity,” Alexei Makarkin, a deputy head of the Center for
Political Technologies, a Moscow-based think-tank, wrote recently.
The Moscow Patriarchate has tried to downplay the rift, saying that
differences could be settled and a council be held at a later date.
“We aren’t inclined to dramatize it or see it as some sort of
catastrophe,” Moscow Patriarchate’s spokesman Vladimir Legoida told the
AP. “We don’t see the difficulties that have emerged as insurmountable.”