First the good news. Nothing really horrible came out of the meeting. In fact very little of note came out of it at all. That’s a success in my book. There was some problematic language in the document on the relationship between the Church and the non-Orthodox. But since the document has already been rejected by the Holy Synods of some of the local churches, it’s effectively a dead letter. On balance, the final encyclical was pretty decent. It restated a lot of things that needed to be said without even hinting at any changes in church doctrine or ecclesiology. And it also specifically affirmed recognition of the VIII (879-880), IX (1341, 1351, 1368), X (1484) and XI (1638, 1642, 1672 and 1691) Great & Holy Councils as well as the decree of the Pan-Orthodox Synod of 1872.
And now the not so good news. Conservatively three quarters of the world’s Orthodox population were not represented at the Synod. The claim being advanced by certain parties that the Synod is nonetheless binding on the entire Church is risible. It is true that not everyone attended all of the previous Councils. But it is also important to note that universal reception of some of those Councils was not immediately apparent. Time will tell to what degree this Synod and its documents are received.
Risible? And you, Nrx, would know this exactly how? I can assure you that if the Putin ecclesial assembly and it’s fellow travelers want to wander off into some Third Rome police state, the rest of us will be more than happy to hold the door open for them. Wouldn’t be the first time....