Holy and Great Council

The Sacrament of Marriage and its Impediments (Final document)

I.On Orthodox Marriage The institution of the family is threatened today by such phenomena as secularization and moral relativism. The Orthodox Church maintains, as her fundamental and indisputable teaching, that marriage is sacred. The freely entered union of man and woman is an indispensable precondition for marriage. In the Orthodox Church, marriage is considered to…

Jun 27, 2016Gheorghe Anghel

The Orthodox Diaspora (Final document)

The Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church concerned itself with the matter of the canonical organization of the Orthodox Diaspora. Therefore, the respective documents were discussed concerning the Orthodox Diaspora and the Rules of Operation of Episcopal Assemblies in the Diaspora, which were submitted by the Fourth Pre-Conciliar Pan-Orthodox Conference (Chambésy, 2009), and…

Jun 27, 2016Gheorghe Anghel

Autonomy and the Means by Which it is Proclaimed (Final document)

The Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church concerned itself with the matter of Autonomy and the Means by Which it is Proclaimed.  Therefore, the respective document, which was submitted by the Fifth Pre-Conciliar Pan-Orthodox Conference (Chambésy, October 10-17, 2009) was discussed and was approved with some minor amendments as follows: The questions of…

Jun 27, 2016Gheorghe Anghel

Relations of the Orthodox Church with the rest of the Christian World (Final document)

The Orthodox Church, as the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church, in her profound ecclesiastical self-consciousness, believes unflinchingly that she occupies a central place in the matter of the promotion of Christian unity in the world today. The Orthodox Church founds the unity of the Church on the fact of her establishment by our Lord…

Jun 27, 2016Gheorghe Anghel

The Importance of Fasting and its Observance Today (Final document)

Official Documents of the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church: The Importance of Fasting and Its Observance Today   Fasting is a divine commandment (Gen 2:16-17). According to Basil the Great, fasting is as old as humanity itself; it was prescribed in paradise (On Fasting, 1, 3. PG 31, 168A). It is a great…

Jun 27, 2016Gheorghe Anghel

Message of the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church

To the Orthodox people and to all people of good will To God, “the Father of mercies and all comfort,” we address a hymn of thanksgiving and praise for having enabled us to gather during the week of Pentecost (18-26 June 2016) on Crete, where the Apostle Paul and his disciple Titus preached the Gospel…

Jun 26, 2016Gheorghe Anghel

Closing session of the Holy and Great Council. Ecumenical Patriarch: “Together we wrote history!”

Following a short time, the closing session of the Holy and Great Council concluded. On this occasion, His Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew addressed a word of gratitude. His Holiness thanked all the Primates of Autocephalous Orthodox Churches who participated in the proceedings, stressing out that “the grace and illumination of the Holy Spirit, which constitutes…

Jun 25, 2016Aurelian Iftimiu

Closing session of the Holy and Great Council

Jun 25, 2016Robert Nicolae

The Orthodox Primates, Honorary Members of the Academy of Crete

Jun 24, 2016Robert Nicolae

Gonia Monastery – Crete: Celebration of the Divine Liturgy in Romanian language

Jun 23, 2016Robert Nicolae

Patriarch of Romania: „Synodality must be a rule at pan-Orthodox level, not just at local level” (video)

During the opening session of the Holy and Great Council held Monday, 20 June 2016, His Beatitude Daniel, Patriarch of Romania, addressed a word in which he stressed out the importance of synodality and respecting it not only at local level, but also at pan-Orthodox level. The holmily of His Beatitude was appreciated by the…

Jun 20, 2016Aurelian Iftimiu