Month: July 2009

Speech by Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia during fraternal meeting with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in Istanbul.

Your Holiness, the Most Holy Archbishop of Constantinople – the New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch, Master Bartholomaios;

Your Eminences Fellow-Archbishops:

With special trepidation we have arrived today in Constantinople, the city whose image lives deep in the heart of the Russian Orthodox believer. In this land covered with glory we remember the distant events of our common history as they come alive at the sight of the magnificent the Church of Divine Wisdom and other monuments of the Byzantine era. We see reviving before our mental eye the pictures each of us holds so dear – the baptism of the holy Princess Olga Equal-to-the-Apostles administered by Patriarch Theophylactos of Constantinople and the visit to Constantinople by the ambassadors of her grandson, the holy Prince Vladimir Equal-to-the-Apostles. Struck by the magnificence of the great Church of Christ and a keen experience of God’s grace, they did not know, as they said, whether we were in heaven or on earth.

Those distant events predetermined the choice of our forefathers in favour of the true faith. Rooted in them is also our reverential attitude to the city of the holy King Constantine and the Patriarchal Throne of Constantinople adorned by the names of such great saints as Gregory the Theologian, John Chrysostom and many others.

In the very beginning of our meeting I would like to testify that these feelings are alive in the Russian Church to this day. With these feelings and sincere love in Christ we fraternally embrace you, greeting Your Holiness and your high-ranking hierarchs of the Holy Church of Constantinople. Continue reading →

THE FOURTH PRE-CONCILIAR PAN-ORTHODOX CONFERENCE
The Orthodox Center of the Ecumenical Patriarchate
Chambésy, 6-13 June 2009

THE ORTHODOX DIASPORA
Decision

The Fourth Pre-Conciliar Pan-Orthodox Conference was convened by His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, with the consensus of Their Beatitudes the Primates of the Most Holy Orthodox Churches expressed during their Sacred Synaxis at the Phanar in October 2008. The Fourth Pre-Conciliar Pan-Orthodox Conference met at the Orthodox Center of Ecumenical Patriarchate in Chambésy, from 6 to 13 June 2009 under the chairmanship of His Eminence Metropolitan John of Pergamon, representative of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.

This Conference, to which all of the most holy Orthodox Autocephalous Churches were invited and were represented, studied the issue of the canonical organization of the Orthodox Diaspora. Pursuant to article 16 of the Rules of Pre-Conciliar Pan-Orthodox Conferences, this Conference discussed the relevant documents submitted in 1990 and 1993 by the Inter-Orthodox Preparatory Commission, amending and approving them as follows:

1. a) It is affirmed that is the common will of all of the most holy Orthodox Churches that the problem of the Orthodox Diaspora be resolved as quickly as possible, and that it be organized in accordance with Orthodox ecclesiology, and the canonical tradition and practice of the Orthodox Church.

b) Likewise, it is affirmed that during the present phase it is not possible, for historical and pastoral reasons, for an immediate transition to the strictly canonical order of the Church on this issue, that is, the existence of only one bishop in the same place. For this reason, the Conference came to the decision to propose the creation of a temporary situation that will prepare the ground for a strictly canonical solution of the problem, based on the principles and guidelines set out below. Of necessity, this preparation will not extend beyond the convening of the future Great and Holy Council of the Orthodox Church, so that it (the Council) can proceed with a canonical solution of the problem.

2. a) This Conference proposes that, for the transitional period where the canonical solution of the issue will be prepared, “Episcopal Assemblies” of all canonically recognized bishops in each region should be created (or founded) in each of the regions defined below. The bishops will continue to be subject to the same canonical jurisdictions to which they are subject today.

b) These Assemblies will consist of all the bishops in each region who are in canonical communion with all of the most holy Orthodox Churches, and will be chaired by the first among the prelates of the Church of Constantinople and, in the absence of thereof, in accordance with the order of the Diptychs. These Assemblies will have an Executive Committee composed of the first hierarchs of the different jurisdictions that exist in the region.

c) The work and the responsibility of these Episcopal Assemblies will be the concern for manifesting the unity of Orthodoxy, the development of common action of all the Orthodox of each region to address the pastoral needs of Orthodox living in the region, a common representation of all Orthodox vis-à-vis other faiths and the wider society in the region, the cultivation of theological scholarship and ecclesiastical education, etc. Decisions on these subjects will be taken by consensus of the Churches who are represented in the particular Assembly. Continue reading →

A quick roundup: Andrei Zolotov, Jr., Chief Editor of Russia Profile and Deputy Director of the RIA Novosti Foreign Service, says that the recent Chambesy conference organized to discuss the “diaspora” resulted in Constantinople making concessions to Moscow. A report in the Kyiv Post says the patriarchs are putting on “a united front” despite the fact that they were to discuss the “sensitive issue of the churches in Ukraine and Estonia during the three-day visit to Turkey.” The Greek news service ANA says “Patriarch Bartholomew underlined the need for unity within the Orthodox Church in order to meet the challenges of the times.” Kathimerini reports that “the outcome of the meeting is keenly awaited by senior clerics both in Moscow and at the Vatican.”

Full text of Zolotov’s analysis follows:

A three-day visit by Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia to Istanbul is more than just his first official trip abroad as the head of the Russian Orthodox Church or than his first visit to the Patriarch of Constantinople, also known as Ecumenical Patriarch.

The Moscow Patriarchate is serious about dramatically improving relations between the two most influential Orthodox Sees, switching from smoldering rivalry and at times explosive conflict to closer cooperation.

Taking into consideration that the Greek American community constitutes the main political and financial base for the Patriarchate of Constantinople, and the official Washington has always patronized this once glorious See in the capital of the Byzantine Empire, which faces many perils in modern Turkey, one could be forgiven for drawing a distant parallel with expectations of a “reset” in the Russian-American relations.

The last serious conflict in relations between Moscow and Constantinople occurred about a year ago around the time of the 1020th anniversary of the Baptism of Rus. Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko tried to involve Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople in resolving the issue of the Orthodox schism in Ukraine in a way that could marginalize the Moscow Patriarchate and violate the rights of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church under its jurisdiction.

Only intense talks shortly before the celebration made it possible to avoid a disastrous development and the meeting between Patriarch Bartholomew and the late Patriarch Alexy II in Kiev was the beginning of normalizing relations.

Last October Patriarch Alexy took part in a meeting of the heads of Orthodox Churches in Istanbul, but within two months Patriarch Bartholomew was to preside over the funeral service for the Patriarch of Moscow.

“We need to avoid confrontation and conflict and to create a system of mutual trust, because local Orthodox Churches constitute a single family,” said Archbishop Hilarion of Volokolamsk, Chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department of External Church Relations. Continue reading →

(1) Editorial decisions at the AOI Observer are made by the editors.

I spent many years working as a newspaper reporter. In that business, people were always complaining about “negative” news stories. Frequently, these were stories that put their subjects in an unfavorably light. Sometimes, these very same people were complaining about negative news coverage even as they were led, in leg shackles and handcuffs, into various courtroom hearings. I’m sure that they were still complaining about negative news coverage in their jail cells, but by then they were out of earshot.

Some people even complain about positive news stories. Usually, it’s those sorts of stories that put their enemies in a positive light.

News decisions are judgment calls. Sometimes we might make a bad call at the AOI Observer. I like to think that we’re making a lot of good calls by the kind of traffic we’re generating here. In any event, we will continue to post news and commentary about the social witness of the Orthodox Church — as we see it. Sometimes, we may post something here simply because we find it interesting.

(2) Patently false, unwarranted assertions and claims are not convincing as arguments.

I can claim that I was abducted by aliens, or that I still have a shot at playing Major League Baseball, but that doesn’t make it so. Claiming that the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America and the Ecumenical Patriarchate are not the chief impediments to the unity of American Orthodox Christians within an autocephalous, American Orthodox Church, is not only laughable, it’s absurdly false. We’ve been, I’m afraid, a bit over-tolerant of people on this site, like Tom Kanelos, who repeatedly make this false claim. We’ve allowed him and others to post these untruthful comments here because we have been trying to foster an open exchange of ideas and insights about the deep crisis that American Orthodoxy is currently experiencing. I fear we have been too tolerant, and allowed for too long to let this howling-out-loud lie — that Greek Orthodox prelates are interested in unity — to circulate here.

So, the AOI Observer issues a challenge. We’re calling the bluff. This blog would be delighted to receive essays in support of an autocephalous, American Orthodox Church written by Greek Orthodox seminary professors, deacons, priests and bishops. In particular, the Observer would be most interested in articles that were published in print or online in the 1994-2008 period. Let’s call it The Post Ligonier 1994 Era. Videotapes or DVDs of Greek clerics speaking out publicly in support of an independent, unified American Orthodox Church, free of foreign control, be it Greek, Russian, Arab, Serbian, Finnish, Romanian, Carpatho-Russian — you name it — would be received with gratitude. Homilies, church bulletins, meeting flyers and the like that were printed for the purpose of organizing talks and meetings at Greek churches in support of Orthodox unity would be helpful. We would review these materials for possible reprint or posting on this blog, based on our own independent editorial judgment.

If it turns out that the historical record in this regard is … a bit thin … then we would consider publishing new material that advocates for an independent American Orthodox Church written by Greek Orthodox clerics. Let’s call this editorial project, “The Orthodox Church of Tomorrow.” No pen names may be used, please. Indicate, along with your author ID, the name of the parish where you serve and the name of your Greek Metropolitan, who will receive a complimentary copy of your article. These commentaries should be written in a charitable and moderate spirit, and should be informed not merely by personal opinions but also the factual record.

(3) The Orthodox Church has a corruption problem.

This blog has been chiefly interested in financial corruption, wherever in the world it occurs, because it seems that Orthodox churchmen have a particular flair for this. Entire Web sites are now dedicated to rooting out the rot, like Orthodox Christians for Accountability. Increasingly, however, concerned Orthodox laity are focusing on sexual abuse in the the Church, like Pokrov.org, “a resource for survivors of abuse in the Orthodox Churches.” These Web watchdogs are performing a much needed ministry for the Orthodox Church. The word ministry is chosen intentionally. Continue reading →