ΕXAMINING THE RULES OF CONSENSUS FROM THE CANONICAL PERSPECTIVE

ALEXANDER RENTEL, EXAMINING THE RULES OF CONSENSUS FROM THE CANONICAL
PERSPECTIVE STUDIA THEOLOGIA ORTHODOXA, 1 (2017), PP.17-28

ABSTRACT. The rules of consensus posed problems for the Holy and Great Council both prior to the council and during. This paper explores some of these reasons and examines the canonical witness for a clearer understanding of consensus within the canonical tradition.

The paper concludes with a call for greater conciliar activity in order to foster a more robust culture of consensus within the Orthodox Church. Keywords: canon law, consensus, eucharistic ecclesiology. 1. On the Requirement for Consensus At their Synaxis in Chambesy, Switzerland, January 2016, the primates of the autocephalous Orthodox Churches adopted a text entitled, Organization and Working Procedure of the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church. This text was to guide the work for the Holy and Great Council, which was eventually held in Crete in June 2016.1 A key component of this document is the requirement for unanimity for the approval of any texts or amendments.2 In fact, the document specifies that the approval of any text must be unanimous for it to have “pan‐ Orthodox authority.” The primates of the Churches were well within the scope of their ministry to adopt procedures for the running of the council; nothing in the canonical tradition forbids the adoption of such rules, and consensus as a rule for decision‐making has a long history in the Church. 

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