Posted on 01/26/2016 4:45:18 AM PST by marshmallow
Over the last two years, the Patriarchate of Constantinople has repeatedly announced that the much anticipated Great and Holy Council will take place around the Feast of Pentecost in June 2016. When it happens, this Council will be an event of considerable historical import, bringing together the leaders of all Orthodox Churches for the first time since 787. Unfortunately, not all Orthodox leaders are equally enthusiastic about the Council and some are even trying to prevent it. Why is the idea of the Council so controversial? Who are the main players in this controversy? If the Council takes place, what might it achieve?
With the exception of a few brief announcements, the preparation of the Council has been kept out of the public eye. The reasons for such secrecy are threefold. First, the leaders of the Orthodox Churches have a relatively poor record of relating to mass media. It is important not to oversensationalize the Council, which may prove to be a disappointment in the long run. Second, in the twentieth century, there have already been repeated unsuccessful attempts to gather such a Council. Given the history of these failures, it is reasonable for the Orthodox Church leaders to proceed with due caution to spare themselves yet another public embarrassment. Finally, the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, who has made the Council his main preoccupation in recent years, exercises extreme caution in speaking about his own hopes for the Council. The Patriarch of Constantinople does not wish to produce the impression that the Council is primarily his initiative or to provoke the Council's detractors in any way.
While the leaders of several local Orthodox Churches have expressed their reluctance to attend the future Council, the main resistance presently comes from the Patriarchate of Moscow. Officially, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow considers the idea......
(Excerpt) Read more at firstthings.com ...
Where will they hold this? Moscow?
Istanbul (Constantinople) is the tentative site, I believe, but there’s talk about moving it to one of the Greek islands due to security concerns in Turkey.
That would make more sense,although the islands are having their problems too.
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