Mount Athos, The Holy Mountain: The Orthodox Vatican (from the Slavonic Epic, nr 17)
Alfons Maria Mucha
1926
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Vladimir Legoida, head of the MP Synodal Information Department (SINFO), expanded on what came about at the meeting of the First Hierarchs and representatives of the Local Churches held last week at the HQ of the Patriarchate of Constantinople in the Phanar in Istanbul. The main purpose of the meeting was to prepare for an all-Orthodox Sobor. Legoida related that the Church reached consensus on convening a Sobor in spring 2016, saying, “The MP delegation, headed by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill Gundayev, played a crucial role in this. The meeting decided to increase preparations for holding a Sobor. This autumn, a special commission composed of one bishop and one advisor from each autocephalous Local Church will begin work. By the spring of next year, the commission will pave the way for the opening of an all-Orthodox Pre-Sobor Conference. It’ll agree upon the final issues to be addressed and be the final step towards an all-Orthodox Sobor”.
“One should note that the First Hierarchs and representatives of the Local Churches unequivocally supported the MP’s position that we should reach all decisions at any future all-Orthodox Sobor by consensus only. This means that if a decision lacks the support of even one Local Church, the Sobor won’t accept it; all decisions must have unanimity to be valid. This is according to ancient Church tradition, this characterises and distinguishes catholicity from recent parliamentary democracy, where decision-making is through the principle of majority. What’s more, this Sobor is important as a living example of how to restore inter-Orthodox communication, long complicated by various factors”. Answering a question whether the upcoming Sobor is an Ecumenical Council, Legoida explained, “Some call the upcoming Sobor a Holy and Great Council; some call it an all-Orthodox Sobor. It’s not correct nor acceptable to call it an Ecumenical Council. The last Ecumenical Council was in Nicaea in 787, and there’s been no more Ecumenical Councils since then. After the schism of 1054, the Latins continued to hold councils, which they called ‘ecumenical’. However, the Church doesn’t recognise them. We expect that the future all-Orthodox Sobor in 2016 would include the First Hierarchs and representatives of all recognised autocephalous Orthodox Local Churches“.
12 March 2014
Patriarchia.ru
MP official website
http://www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/3603789.html
Editor’s Note:
I left “Sobor” in the original Russian for a reason. Firstly, all Russian Orthodox in the diaspora know what a “sobor” is… it’s a meeting held to thrash out matters of Church governance, not doctrinal issues. That’s true of this meeting, as well. There’s MUCH less to it than what EP and papist sources are trumpeting in various fora and media. GIVE HEED TO THE SECTIONS IN BOLDFACE. Read them with care… there be plenty of fresh and steaming cowpats in that there field. When one adds to that Balashov’s recent comment on the number of autocephalous Churches, one can realise that this Sobor is far from a done deal.
One last thing, Antioch and Czechia/Slovakia weren’t at the late meeting… y’know, we need CONSENSUS for ANYTHING to fly… can you catch my drift?
BMD
1 October 2012. A Point to Ponder. Symphonia… It’s What the Church Teaches
Tags: Arianism, Christian, Christianity, Church, church-state relations, Eastern Orthodox Church, Ecumenical Council, Gnosticism, Kirill I of Moscow, Monophysitism, Moscow, Moscow Patriarchate, Nestorianism, Orthodox, Orthodoxy, Patriarch Kirill I, political commentary, politics, Pope, Pope of Rome, poster, Religion, Religion and Spirituality, Russia, Russian, Russian culture, Russian history, Russian Orthodox Church, Seven Ecumenical Councils, Symphonia, Vladimir Putin
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With all the arrant bullshit swirling over HH and President Putin, it’s time to interject some reality here. The Church teaches Symphonia… the cooperation of Church and State, each in its proper sphere, but with each influencing the other and each checking the other’s excesses and errors. Don’t forget, the Emperor called all seven REAL Ecumenical Councils… NOT the Pope of Rome, NOT the Patriarch of Constantinople, NOT any cleric at all. That’s why we can’t have an Eighth Ecumenical Council until a believing Orthodox Emperor calls one. In any case, there’s no crisis in the Church similar to the Great Christological Heresies today. We have serious problems, to be sure, but they’re “wheat n’ tares“, not Arianism, Gnosticism, Nestorianism, or Monophysitism. Those cut to the heart n’ soul of the Faith… today’s problems affect the “members” of the Faith… that is, they’re serious, they need attention (or it’ll affect this-or-that portion of the Church), but it isn’t the inner sanctum of belief.
HH and President Putin cooperate. That’s all to the good! Trust me, HH isn’t going to turn over the Church to the State. In any case, HH isn’t a government minister, and VVP isn’t a pastor. Use the good-sense that God gave you and get your mind right.
BMD