Our current pandemic has brought us face-to-face with the reality of
human mortality, our susceptibility to disease and death. We no longer
confront death in the abstract: its long hand has reached out to our
communities and, in some cases, even touched our families. In our big
extended family called the Church, we have become more aware of our
common brokenness, and we are called to become more compassionate, more
responsive to each other’s needs.
Council of Crete embraces outward-looking leadership
During
the week of June 19 on the island of Crete, the first global Orthodox
Council to meet in more than 1,000 years—known as the “Holy and Great
Council”—brought together more than 290 delegates, mostly bishops,
representing 10 self-governing local Orthodox churches.
During
the week of June 19, the leaders of the self-governing Orthodox
churches worldwide gathered in council on the island of Crete. As the
first global Council of the Orthodox Church in more than 1,000 years,
this historic event promised to usher in a new era of conciliarity.
by Rev. Dr. John Chryssavgis and Paul L. Gavrilyuk, First Things
The Holy and Great Council of the
Orthodox Church, an event that has been in preparation for more than
half a century, will take place at the Orthodox Academy of Crete on June
19-26, 2016.