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Luis Badilla - ©copyright), lsismografo.blogspot.gr
What purpose can there be to the proposal of suspending the Council and who can decide in such a situation?
The
questions repeatedly asked – and unfortunately provocatively promoted
in some circles – are in fact wrongly posed. And I will explain why. It
is not appropriate or even accurate to speak of Churches refusing to
attend or of Constantinople’s refusal to respond. In fact, only months
ago, in January 2016, every single one of the Orthodox Primates and
representatives from all of the 14 Orthodox Churches signed that they
would convene and attend the Holy and Great Council in June. Indeed,
they signed several documents, every single page of those documents and
even every single page of the translations of those documents –
literally hundreds of signatures of commitment. At the same time, the
January meeting was an affirmation and ratification of a similar meeting
of all Orthodox Primates and all Orthodox Churches in March 2014, where
they first approved and signed that they would meet for the Holy and
Great Council in June 2016.
So
the majority of the Orthodox Churches were very surprised, perplexed
and even shocked that the Churches of Bulgaria, Georgia, Antioch and
Russia changed their minds about attending at the very last minute (less
than two weeks before the opening of the council), especially when
absolutely nothing had transpired in the meanwhile!
Nevertheless,
the current mood in Crete is peaceful and focused. The Churches that
have arrived and continue to arrive for the official opening on Sunday
are already working on the draft message to be published at the end of
the council. They are, of course, deeply and sincerely saddened that
some Churches have created this turmoil by changing their minds for no
apparent (or at least no justifiable) reason.
So
the council will proceed and convene, while its decisions will be
authoritative and binding, just as with the decisions of any council in
the line of authentic councils through history, although it will also
undergo the traditional process of reception by the people of God, the
faithful believers of the Orthodox Church.
What can the Orthodox world realistically expect from this historical meeting? The Orthodox Church is and claims to be the church of the councils, tracing the authenticity of its faith and the authority of its doctrines to the early church councils of the first millennium and even to the first apostolic council in Jerusalem, as described in the Book of Acts. However, a series of historical events and circumstances during the second millennium of the Christian era (including the great schism between the Eastern and Western church, the tragic campaigns of the crusades, the Ottoman subjugation of much of the Eastern region, the oppressive Soviet regime of the 20th century, and so on) led to the gradual disappearance of the pan-Orthodox conciliar structure in exchange for a more defensive, even ethnic element in order to survive. Thus, Pan-Orthodox Councils were largely maintained through councils convened by the Ecumenical Patriarchate, which included primates and other hierarchs from local churches, whenever they could attend. In the early 20th century, the Ecumenical Patriarchate initiated a movement among the Orthodox Churches to work toward a Pan-Orthodox council. In the 1960s, Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras revived the dream and organized several Pre-Conciliar conferences, which discussed a potential agenda and laid the foundation for a forthcoming Holy and Great Council. But even after almost 60 years, the council was still forthcoming. It was the current Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew that encouraged his brother Primates of the autocephalous Orthodox Churches, 14 of them in all, to work toward finally realizing this dream from 1992 (and more intensely from 2008) through 2016. In 2014, all of the Orthodox Primates signed their commitment to convene the council on the feast of Pentecost 2016; and in January, 2016, the same Primates once again affirmed and signed that the venue for this council would be Crete. The original goals were entirely pastoral and centered on an encounter of the Orthodox Church with the changing modern world, topics that required Pan-Orthodox action. And here the goals had a two-fold focus: first, the situation of Orthodox Christians in the traditional Orthodox countries and the changing situation in the advent of the modern world, and with the condition of Orthodox Christians who had emigrated and immigrated to the New World and who found themselves in pluralistic societies. So, for example, the early meetings considered ways to reconcile the calendar of the Church with the newly adopted secular calendar. Likewise, they considered ways to adapt fasting regulations, originally developed in a Mediterranean context, to the new locales in which Orthodox Christians found themselves. Also, the early activity attempted to come to a common position on relations with other Christian groups, such as the Anglicans, Old Catholics, and the ancient Oriental Orthodox Churches. In the 1960s, the different meetings also sought a common approach on relations with Roman Catholics especially in light of Vatican II. During all this time, these topics continued to develop and change in light of changing circumstances and demands faced by the Churches. Such a council, then, would be the first Pan-Orthodox gathering since the first millennium. Councils to be sure have met in the intervening centuries, but not with this scope of representation and not in the modern era. Additionally, it has been over a thousand years since the Orthodox Church met in council that would most closely approximate this one in terms of size and representative.
What does this event represent for the Orthodox believers? The Holy and Great Council will gather together Orthodox hierarchs from all over the world, from the venerable sees of ancient Orthodox Christianity, Constantinople, Alexandria, Jerusalem, and Cyprus, and from traditional Orthodox countries, Serbia, Romania, Greece, Albania, Poland, and the Czech Lands and Slovakia, but also hierarchs who serve in parts of the globe not usually associated with Orthodox Christianity, from Asia, Africa, Western Europe, and from North America. In and of itself, such a universal gathering represents a singular and significant event in the life of the Church demonstrating the new global reach of Orthodox Christianity. The council should focus the attention of the Churches away from solely parochial and local concerns to a broader perspective on Church life. So there is no doubt that the global issues affecting the world will also be a central and critical part of discussions at the Holy and Great Council. All of the ancient Patriarchates (Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem) and the ancient Church of Cyprus are facing the tragedy of persecution and martyrdom among their faithful. At the same time, they are the Churches right in the middle of the refugee crisis as well as the Churches that have the most experience, and also the most to contribute from coexisting alongside their Muslim brothers and sisters, especially in Palestine, the Middle East and Northern Africa. The situation in Ukraine is more painful inasmuch as the struggle has deteriorated to a civil war between Orthodox Christians – often behind the face of Orthodoxy; and so we would like to see more pastoral compassion and less political posturing on the part of the Churches.
What could Catholics expect from the Council in the perspective of the ecumenical dialog? The purpose of the Holy and Great Council is to bring the Orthodox Churches together – for the first time in history on such a comprehensive and representative level – in order to present a more unified profile and provide a more credible witness in the world. The problem is that the 14 Orthodox Churches have developed at a different pace from one another. For example, the Ecumenical Patriarch had created positive and constructive relations with other Christian Churches (especially the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion) and ecumenical organizations for many decades, while other Churches (such as the Church of Bulgaria and the Church of Georgia) have hesitated and steered away from such relationships and have therefore become more isolated community in the Christian world, feeling uncomfortable about opening up to dialogue with other churches or religions. Therefore, the Holy and Great Council is an opportunity for these diverse Orthodox Churches – united sacramentally and doctrinally, but fragmented in so many other ways – to establish some helpful guidelines about the importance of embracing the world instead of retreating into a ghetto. ***** Rev. Dr. John Chryssavgis is an author and theologian serving as Archdeacon of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and theological advisor to the Ecumenical Patriarch. He is a clergyman of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. Born in Australia, he graduated from Athens University and Oxford University. His publications focus on medieval theology, as well as on the history of the Eastern Church. His interests embrace the areas of spirituality and ecology. He co-founded St Andrew’s Theological College in Sydney, where he also taught at the University of Sydney. In 1995, he was appointed Professor of Theology at Holy Cross School of Theology and directed the Religious Studies Program at Hellenic College. He has also taught at the University of Balamand in Lebanon. He has published over thirty books and numerous articles in several languages. He lives in Maine. Actually he is the Director of the Press Office for the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church.
What can the Orthodox world realistically expect from this historical meeting? The Orthodox Church is and claims to be the church of the councils, tracing the authenticity of its faith and the authority of its doctrines to the early church councils of the first millennium and even to the first apostolic council in Jerusalem, as described in the Book of Acts. However, a series of historical events and circumstances during the second millennium of the Christian era (including the great schism between the Eastern and Western church, the tragic campaigns of the crusades, the Ottoman subjugation of much of the Eastern region, the oppressive Soviet regime of the 20th century, and so on) led to the gradual disappearance of the pan-Orthodox conciliar structure in exchange for a more defensive, even ethnic element in order to survive. Thus, Pan-Orthodox Councils were largely maintained through councils convened by the Ecumenical Patriarchate, which included primates and other hierarchs from local churches, whenever they could attend. In the early 20th century, the Ecumenical Patriarchate initiated a movement among the Orthodox Churches to work toward a Pan-Orthodox council. In the 1960s, Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras revived the dream and organized several Pre-Conciliar conferences, which discussed a potential agenda and laid the foundation for a forthcoming Holy and Great Council. But even after almost 60 years, the council was still forthcoming. It was the current Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew that encouraged his brother Primates of the autocephalous Orthodox Churches, 14 of them in all, to work toward finally realizing this dream from 1992 (and more intensely from 2008) through 2016. In 2014, all of the Orthodox Primates signed their commitment to convene the council on the feast of Pentecost 2016; and in January, 2016, the same Primates once again affirmed and signed that the venue for this council would be Crete. The original goals were entirely pastoral and centered on an encounter of the Orthodox Church with the changing modern world, topics that required Pan-Orthodox action. And here the goals had a two-fold focus: first, the situation of Orthodox Christians in the traditional Orthodox countries and the changing situation in the advent of the modern world, and with the condition of Orthodox Christians who had emigrated and immigrated to the New World and who found themselves in pluralistic societies. So, for example, the early meetings considered ways to reconcile the calendar of the Church with the newly adopted secular calendar. Likewise, they considered ways to adapt fasting regulations, originally developed in a Mediterranean context, to the new locales in which Orthodox Christians found themselves. Also, the early activity attempted to come to a common position on relations with other Christian groups, such as the Anglicans, Old Catholics, and the ancient Oriental Orthodox Churches. In the 1960s, the different meetings also sought a common approach on relations with Roman Catholics especially in light of Vatican II. During all this time, these topics continued to develop and change in light of changing circumstances and demands faced by the Churches. Such a council, then, would be the first Pan-Orthodox gathering since the first millennium. Councils to be sure have met in the intervening centuries, but not with this scope of representation and not in the modern era. Additionally, it has been over a thousand years since the Orthodox Church met in council that would most closely approximate this one in terms of size and representative.
What does this event represent for the Orthodox believers? The Holy and Great Council will gather together Orthodox hierarchs from all over the world, from the venerable sees of ancient Orthodox Christianity, Constantinople, Alexandria, Jerusalem, and Cyprus, and from traditional Orthodox countries, Serbia, Romania, Greece, Albania, Poland, and the Czech Lands and Slovakia, but also hierarchs who serve in parts of the globe not usually associated with Orthodox Christianity, from Asia, Africa, Western Europe, and from North America. In and of itself, such a universal gathering represents a singular and significant event in the life of the Church demonstrating the new global reach of Orthodox Christianity. The council should focus the attention of the Churches away from solely parochial and local concerns to a broader perspective on Church life. So there is no doubt that the global issues affecting the world will also be a central and critical part of discussions at the Holy and Great Council. All of the ancient Patriarchates (Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem) and the ancient Church of Cyprus are facing the tragedy of persecution and martyrdom among their faithful. At the same time, they are the Churches right in the middle of the refugee crisis as well as the Churches that have the most experience, and also the most to contribute from coexisting alongside their Muslim brothers and sisters, especially in Palestine, the Middle East and Northern Africa. The situation in Ukraine is more painful inasmuch as the struggle has deteriorated to a civil war between Orthodox Christians – often behind the face of Orthodoxy; and so we would like to see more pastoral compassion and less political posturing on the part of the Churches.
What could Catholics expect from the Council in the perspective of the ecumenical dialog? The purpose of the Holy and Great Council is to bring the Orthodox Churches together – for the first time in history on such a comprehensive and representative level – in order to present a more unified profile and provide a more credible witness in the world. The problem is that the 14 Orthodox Churches have developed at a different pace from one another. For example, the Ecumenical Patriarch had created positive and constructive relations with other Christian Churches (especially the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion) and ecumenical organizations for many decades, while other Churches (such as the Church of Bulgaria and the Church of Georgia) have hesitated and steered away from such relationships and have therefore become more isolated community in the Christian world, feeling uncomfortable about opening up to dialogue with other churches or religions. Therefore, the Holy and Great Council is an opportunity for these diverse Orthodox Churches – united sacramentally and doctrinally, but fragmented in so many other ways – to establish some helpful guidelines about the importance of embracing the world instead of retreating into a ghetto. ***** Rev. Dr. John Chryssavgis is an author and theologian serving as Archdeacon of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and theological advisor to the Ecumenical Patriarch. He is a clergyman of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. Born in Australia, he graduated from Athens University and Oxford University. His publications focus on medieval theology, as well as on the history of the Eastern Church. His interests embrace the areas of spirituality and ecology. He co-founded St Andrew’s Theological College in Sydney, where he also taught at the University of Sydney. In 1995, he was appointed Professor of Theology at Holy Cross School of Theology and directed the Religious Studies Program at Hellenic College. He has also taught at the University of Balamand in Lebanon. He has published over thirty books and numerous articles in several languages. He lives in Maine. Actually he is the Director of the Press Office for the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church.
