International

The Orthodox Primates, Honorary Members of the Academy of Crete

Friday night, 24 June 2016, the ceremony for awarding the Primates of the Orthodox Autocephalous Churches, present at the Holy and Great Council, the title of Great Benefactors and Friends of the Orthodox Academy of Crete was held. It should be mentioned that the Ecumenical Patriarch and Archbishop Anastasios of Albania were awarded this title…

Jun 28, 2016Iulian Dumitraşcu

Synodality Manifested at Sacramental Level. Orthodox Primates Concelebrated at the End of the Holy and Great Council

On the Sunday of All Saints (26 June 2016), the Primates of the Autocephalous Orthodox Churches manifested the sacramental unity once more, concelebrating at the end of the Holy and Great Council. The Divine Liturgy celebrated in Saints Peter and Paul the Apostles church in Chania, Crete, was chaired by His Holiness Bartholomew, Ecumenical Patriarch of…

Jun 28, 2016Iulian Dumitraşcu

The Mission of the Orthodox Church in Today’s World (Final document)

The contribution of the Orthodox Church in realizing peace, justice, freedom, fraternity and love between peoples, and in the removal of racial and other discriminations. For God so loved the world that he gave his Only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life (Jn 3:16). The Church of Christ…

Jun 27, 2016Gheorghe Anghel

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