Patriarch Kirill: All-Orthodox Council will call for peace
News Historical scale for the entire Orthodox world came from Istanbul, from the residence of the Patriarch of Constantinople. There, the heads and representatives of all the local Orthodox Churches decided to hold a Pan-Orthodox Council in 2016. He waited for more than a thousand years. The last Ecumenical Council with the participation of Orthodox hierarchs was held in the distant VIII century, before the split of the Christian Church into Orthodox and Catholic. Preparations for the convocation of a new Orthodox Council began more than half a century ago and were interrupted many times.
The black gate to the residence of the Ecumenical Patriarch has been locked for the second century. The entrance is through the side gate. "In the old Istanbul district of Fanar, the residence of the Patriarch of Constantinople, far from the noise of the eastern city, has been located for over four centuries. The Greek intelligentsia, who settled around from time immemorial, always recognizes the first news of the Ecumenical Throne.
The last Pan-Orthodox Council, which the heads of all 14 local churches came to Constantinople to discuss, has not been going since the end of the VIII century, therefore preparation for it is taking into account all the trifles. The delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church — the largest on the planet of the local Orthodox Church — is the most influential and respected. Its decisions largely determine the agenda and set the tone for the meeting.
Most of the meeting takes place behind closed doors and lasts until late at night. It is important to discuss the thousands of details - both the rules and the content. It is already certain that the Council will not make any religious decisions. What is important is the very fact of holding a cathedral in today's rapidly changing world.
“First of all, the Council will be addressed to the world and will express its position on the situation in the Middle East, Africa and Syria,” said Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia. “This is an expression of common Orthodox solidarity in defense of the oppressed Christian minorities, in defense of all those innocent victims who shed their blood in Syria and other countries. "
Also a statement was made in Ukraine. “It,” said Patriarch Kirill, “contains three very important points. This is a call for all issues to be resolved peacefully. It is important that no one seizes churches and monasteries by force. It is also very important to appeal to people who are in a split. All Orthodox Churches urge them to return to the bosom of the Holy Orthodox Church. Of course, this implies the canonical principle of reestablishing church unity in Ukraine. "
Each local Church at the Council will be represented by the Patriarch and 24 bishops. The decision at the Council - and this was the principal condition of the Russian Orthodox Church - will be taken by consensus of votes, so that no one can make those decisions that will not suit at least one Church.
"The Council will be presided over by the Patriarch of Constantinople, the first among equals. But he will sit surrounded by primates of the local Orthodox Churches. Thus, the external picture of the Council will not resemble Catholic cathedrals where the Pope sits and the Catholic bishops in the hall. It will reflect the Orthodox teaching about the Church, "said Metropolitan of Volokolamsk, Patriarch Kirill Hilarion, vicar of the Patriarch.
“The Pan-Orthodox Council prepared for more than 50 years, this preparation was interrupted many times, but now it was decided that this council will pass. It will pass, if there are no obstacles, in 2016,” said Metropolitan Hilarion, whose statement after the meeting of heads local churches spread the press service of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia.
It was also established that from the local Churches at the Pan-Orthodox Council there will be a bishop on 24, and all decisions of the Council will be made after reaching a common opinion between the Churches. "It is extremely important that decisions at the council will be taken by consensus, that is, by general agreement - there will be no vote at the council," Patriarch Kirill said after a meeting, quoted by his press office.
In addition, each local church at the cathedral will have one vote. “That is, the Church cannot represent two different opinions — her opinion should be formulated so as to express the general opinion of the entire episcopate, the clergy, the believing people,” the patriarch said.
Outside the residence of the Ecumenical Patriarch, the Orthodox clergy, with the exception of primates, leaves without a ryas. The custom introduced Kemal Ataturk, the first president of Turkey, who sought to make the country more secular. The ban on wearing a fez that has not been canceled today does not allow wearing any religious clothing outside the temple, but, on the other hand, after Jerusalem there is probably the highest concentration of shrines and temples of various denominations on the planet. The sounds of the prayer surrounding the residence of the Patriarch of Constantinople minarets merge with the prayer of the Christian service.
At the common table, on which the Gospel lies, are the Primates of the Russian, Georgian, Romanian, Serbian Churches. According to the diptych - the list of Orthodox Churches - in the order of their seniority.
“There are a lot of questions on the agenda, on the decision of which it depends whether Christianity will exist at all. The most sensitive issue is the Middle East, Syria. Without a common word from all Orthodox, nothing can be changed,” the spokesman for the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia said Deacon Alexander Volkov.
According to Patriarch Kirill, the cathedral of Orthodox churches is an "event historical importance "." Such cathedrals, consisting of all the local Orthodox churches, have almost never existed in history, "he said.
In the history of the Christian Church was the so-called seven Ecumenical Councils, the last of which took place in VIII century. It was a meeting of senior clergy and representatives of local Christian churches, which have been developed and approved by the foundations of doctrine, formed canons evaluated various theological concepts and convicted of heresy.
“After the XI century, when the separation between East and West occurred, cathedrals continued to gather in the West - they were called“ Ecumenical ”there, of course, we do not recognize them as“ ecumenical ”; well, in the East, for Orthodox, by and large There were no such councils. The Orthodox Church seemed to be unaccustomed to the cathedrals. Of course, each local church has its own cathedrals, but there are no cathedrals at the overall Orthodox level, "said Metropolitan Hilarion.
The meeting in Istanbul was attended by delegations 13 local Orthodox churches of Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, Russian, Georgian, Serbian, Romanian, Bulgarian, Cypriot, Hellenic, Albanian and Polish.
The venue of the Cathedral is intrigue. Most votes for Constantinople.
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