Ecumenical, or Pan-Orthodox Council: the agenda and fears of believers

In the summer of 2016 in Greece, in the seaside village of Kolymbari (Crete), the All-Orthodox Council was held, where 10 local autocephalous Orthodox churches from 14 recognized ones took part. According to the decision taken by the heads of the meeting in March 2014, where the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew was presiding, this cathedral was planned to be held in Istanbul (Constantinople), but due to the sharp aggravation of Russian-Turkish relations in 2016, at the insistence of the Moscow Patriarchate, the date was postponed From June 16 to June 27, 2016.

The Eighth Pan-Orthodox Council: how to treat it?

Ecumenical Councils in the history of the Christian church there are seven, the last of them was held in the VIII century and was called the Second Nicene. It was condemned iconoclasm. The very first Council was held in 325, where the basis of all orthodox Christianity was developed - the Symbol of Faith.

However, many believers decided that the 8th All-Orthodox Council would be held. But this is wrong, because only the Ecumenical can be the "eighth", and it is impossible to hold it, because in 1054 the Great schism took place, which eventually formed the Roman Catholic Church. Accordingly, now the name "ecumenical" has become a little inappropriate.

8 Ecumenical Council: fears of believers

Fear of Orthodox Christians did not just happen: according to the predictions of the holy elders, the Eighth Ecumenical Council will secretly crown the Antichrist, accept the heresy of ecumenism (faith will unite into one), monasticism will be destroyed, a new calendar will be introduced, at the services the Orthodox patriarchs will pray in prayers to the Pope , The posts will be simplified, the psalms will be silent, the Sacrament of the Communion will disappear, the bishops will be allowed to marry, etc. In such churches, God's grace will no longer exist, nor will the sense of visiting them.

In order to hold the Ecumenical Council, all Christians need to unite, but this issue is very difficult to solve now, and not all canonical churches will want to attend it. That's why the All-Orthodox Council was convened - a meeting of the leaders and representatives of all recognized Orthodox autocephalous churches. This includes churches such as Constantinople, Antioch, Alexandria, Jerusalem, Hellas (Greek), Cyprus, Russian, Serbian, Albanian, Bulgarian, Georgian, Polish, Romanian, Czech lands and Slovakia.

The agenda of the All-Orthodox Council

On the agenda of the Council, six controversial issues were considered for consideration:

1. The Orthodox Church and its mission in the modern world.
2. The Orthodox Diaspora.
3. Autonomy and by what means it is achieved.
4. The mystery of marriage and what threatens him.
5. The fasting and importance of its observance today.
6. The Orthodox Church and its relations with the rest of the Christian world.

The Ukrainian question

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine added fuel to the fire, which on the eve of the expected meeting of the heads of the Orthodox churches on June 16, 2016, addressed the Ecumenical Patriarch Filaret about the recognition of the act of 1686, when the Kyiv Metropolitanate was handed over from the Patriarchate of Constantinople to Moscow, invalid. And they demanded the granting of autocephaly to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, that it should take a worthy place in the Orthodox family of local churches.

The Moscow Patriarchate criticized the appeal of the deputies, stating that they are not doing their own thing and behave like a self-proclaimed body in the management of relations between churches. Officially this issue was not considered in Crete.

Meeting format

The All-Orthodox Council officially opened on June 20, and 24 bishops gathered there. Any decision was made only after reaching a consensus. The Patriarch of Constantinople presided over it . The official languages of the meeting were recognized: Greek, Russian, English, French and Arabic.

Metropolitan Savvaty (Antonov) noted that the All-Orthodox Council has serious shortcomings and was surprised by the uncertainty about the jurisdiction of Qatar's ownership, the lack of agreement on the documents proposed for approval. But the most surprising is the required quarter of a million euros from each delegation participating in the Council. Because of unresolved differences, four recognized autocephalous churches, Antiochian, Russian, Bulgarian and Georgian, declined to participate.