The Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in Germany met last weekend at the Romanian Ecclesiastical Centre in Munich. The hierarchs also concelebrated at the Divine Liturgy on the Sunday of Orthodoxy.
The bishops discussed the scarcity of places of worship for numerous Orthodox communities in Germany, which frequently lease spaces from Catholic and Evangelical communities, during their working session on Saturday, March 23.
“It is essential that we, the Orthodox here, speak with one (single) voice because we either speak with one or we speak with none,” explained the Greek Metropolitan of Germany Augustinos.
Meeting of the German Orthodox Bishops’ Assembly
“We are very happy about this support and about the possibility that Romanian Orthodox believers, Greeks, and all others can build centres that testify to our Orthodox faith because if you have nothing, you are nothing—that’s how it is considered, unfortunately, or lived in today’s world. So, this settlement is a great blessing.”
“I greet His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel of the Romanian Orthodox Church, whom I met at the Council of Crete in 2016. I appreciated his contribution there,” Greek Metropolitan Augustinos of Germany noted.
The Romanian Orthodox Church was represented by His Eminence Metropolitan Serafim of Germany, Central and Northern Europe, and His Grace Assistant Bishop Sofian of Brașov.
“It was the first time that the bishops came to our settlement, and we were happy with their appreciation of this beautiful ensemble, representative of the entire Orthodoxy, as His Eminence Metropolitan Augustinos remarked,” Assistant Bishop Sofian of Brașov wrote on his Facebook page.
“Orthodoxy, when it builds churches here, practically grounds itself here and expects from us, the Orthodox living in Germany and the other countries of Central and Western Europe, to make our contribution to Christianity, which in these parts has weakened, has somehow lost in substance. Let us be a reinforcement for the world here, for the spirituality of these parts.”
A document marking the Council of Nicaea’s 1700th anniversary
The meeting reached a resolution concerning the observance of the 1700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council in Nicaea the following year.
“A significant commission is the Theological Commission of the German Orthodox Bishops’ Assembly,” explained Father Daniel Benga. It includes male and female theologians from all the Orthodox Churches, who elaborate fundamental texts for the testimony of Orthodoxy in the Western world, especially in the German world.”
“At this meeting, a representative text was approved, which will be published by the Assembly of Orthodox Bishops for the Jubilee Year 2025, when we mark 1700 years since the First Ecumenical Council in Nicaea,” Father Daniel Benga said.
“I could also mention the Joint Committee between Germany’s Orthodox Bishops’ Assembly and the Catholic Bishops’ Conference, which is also developing fundamental texts related to the Christian witness at this time – both Orthodox and Catholic, in the German space,” Father Daniel Benga added.
On the Sunday of Orthodoxy, His Eminence Metropolitan Augustinos presided over the Divine Liturgy at the Church of the Romanian ecclesiastical centre in Munich, with the other Orthodox bishops in Germany as concelebrants.
The hierarchs expressed special gratitude for the many Romanian children and their families who attended the service.
The Church of the Romanian Ecclesiastical Centre in Munich is where St. Callinicus of Cernica and the Exaltation of the Holy Cross are venerated. The Hall of the Crosses, the chapel’s sanctuary, was consecrated in 2022. In the same year, the Romanian Ecclesiastical Centre in Munich was bestowed with the Bucharest Architecture Annual award for public architecture.
Photography courtesy of Facebook / Episcop Sofian Brașoveanul
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