Patriarch Kirill: We Do Not Call the Forthcoming Pan-Orthodox Council Ecumenical

Pravimir ^ | 2/4/16

[marshmallow]

Presenting his report to the Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church, which opened on February 2 in Moscow, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia spoke on the preparations for the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church.

'We believe that the Church of Christ is One, Holy Catholic and Apostolic, as the Creed clearly states. The Church is one by her nature. The existence of many autocephalous Churches in the world is a form of the Church's existence in history most suitable for carrying out her salvific mission. We also know that the Church's decision-making important for the Orthodox Plenitude has always required the participation if not of all the Orthodox hierarchs then at all events representatives of each Local Church. In this sense, Ecumenical Councils and some other Councils of pan-Orthodox significance are a visible expression of the Unity of the Church, her conciliar nature, a reflection of her self-awareness as one body in Christ (sf. Rom. 12:5).

'The reception by the whole Church of a particular Council has always been gradual and, 'as church history shows, no Council could impose its decisions on the Church if they proved to be rejected by the people of God, if there was no all-church reception of a Council's resolutions'. For this reason, no Ecumenical Council became such only by the fact of its convocation: its real significance became clear only after some, sometimes very long time.

'We do not call Ecumenical the forthcoming Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church. Unlike ancient Ecumenical Councils, it is not called to make decisions on doctrinal issues because such were made long ago and are not subject to revision. It is not called either to introduce any innovation in the liturgical life of the Church and her canonical order.

[CharlesOConnell]

I’m ashamed to say as a Catholic I read on a respected site the calumny that the Russians don’t want it because they can’t control it. The writer has no direct, God-like knowledge of anyone else’s intentions, indeed, many people don’t even fully acknowledge their own motives, much less can they read the souls of others.

[Kolokotronis]

“’The reception by the whole Church of a particular Council has always been gradual and, ‘as church history shows, no Council could impose its decisions on the Church if they proved to be rejected by the people of God, if there was no all-church reception of a Council’s resolutions’. For this reason, no Ecumenical Council became such only by the fact of its convocation: its real significance became clear only after some, sometimes very long time.”

And in the past we, the People of God, have rejected the decisions of so-called Ecumenical Councils. Unlike in the West, we are the guardians of The Faith, not the hierarchs.