An international conference examining the Holy and Great Council of Crete began in Chantilly, France, on Monday, 5 October, marking the tenth anniversary of the landmark Orthodox Church gathering.
The International Scientific Conference, titled The Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church (2016–2026): Assessment and Prospects, was organised by the Ecumenical Patriarchate and ran from 5 to 8 October.
The programme featured thematic sessions with presentations by hierarchs of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, abbots and abbesses, academics and cultural figures.
Opening day
His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I opened the conference on Monday, while Metropolitan Emmanuel of Chalcedon welcomed participants on behalf of the Organising Committee.
Metropolitan Bartholomew of Smyrna of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, Metropolitan Gregory of Cameroon of the Patriarchate of Alexandria, and Metropolitan Ignatios of Demetrias of the Church of Greece delivered presentations.
Jean-François Colosimo, director of the renowned Paris-based publishing house Éditions du Cerf and an Archon of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, delivered a presentation entitled Primacy and Kenosis: The Synodal Ministry of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
Romanian contributions
Numerous sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday addressed subjects including synodality, canonical autonomy and questions surrounding the celebration of the Holy Mystery of Marriage in today’s multicultural context.
Romania was represented by Rev. Prof. Viorel Ioniță, Honorary Patriarchal Adviser, who was scheduled to deliver a presentation on Tuesday entitled Implementing the Synodal Document on the Orthodox Diaspora.
Fr Michael Tița, Eparchial Vicar of the Archdiocese of Bucharest, was scheduled to speak on Wednesday on The Document on the Mission of the Orthodox Church in Today’s World – A Renewed Commitment for the Present and the Future.
Wednesday’s presentations also included one by Mother Hypandia, Abbess of Solan Monastery in France, entitled The Forbidden Fruit: The Birth of Freedom and the Death of Death.
The conference concluded on Thursday with a final plenary session and a roundtable discussion focused on assessing the Council’s achievements and future prospects.
The discussion was chaired by Metropolitan Emmanuel of Chalcedon, with Archbishop John of Tirana, Durrës and All Albania among the participants.
The Holy and Great Council
The Holy and Great Council of 2016 brought together hierarchs from 10 of the 14 autocephalous Orthodox Churches at the Orthodox Academy of Crete between 16 and 26 June 2016.
Its proceedings focused on the mission of the Orthodox Church in an increasingly globalised and secularised world.
A delegation of 25 hierarchs, led by His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel, represented the Romanian Patriarchate.
All official documents of the Holy and Great Council of Crete (2016) are available in Romanian and English on Basilica.ro.
