Dragoş Andrei Giulea, Journal The Wheel
In the aftermath of the recent council held in Crete, the waters of the Orthodox world are still troubled by several disputes concerning both administrative and theological issues.
Here I would like to tackle one of the theological matters: the distinction between the Orthodox Church and non-Orthodox Churches made in the document “Relations of the Orthodox Church with the Rest of the Christian World.”
The topic ignited some discussions before the council, when the draft did not include this distinction but simply applied the term church to Christian communities other than the Orthodox
Church. For this reason, among others, the Patriarchate of Georgia refused to attend the synod, while voices such as those of the Greek bishops Hierotheos Vlachos and Athanasios of Limassol, two synodal fathers who did not sign the document, continue to oppose the new formula.
Against the background of this troubled setting, I will argue here that the distinction between “Orthodox” and “non-Orthodox” churches proposed in Crete is actually one of the most elegant ecclesiological expressions to date, and might be a starting point for future Orthodox ecclesiological elaboratin. ......
The topic ignited some discussions before the council, when the draft did not include this distinction but simply applied the term church to Christian communities other than the Orthodox
Church. For this reason, among others, the Patriarchate of Georgia refused to attend the synod, while voices such as those of the Greek bishops Hierotheos Vlachos and Athanasios of Limassol, two synodal fathers who did not sign the document, continue to oppose the new formula.
Against the background of this troubled setting, I will argue here that the distinction between “Orthodox” and “non-Orthodox” churches proposed in Crete is actually one of the most elegant ecclesiological expressions to date, and might be a starting point for future Orthodox ecclesiological elaboratin. ......