ROCOR: Forthcoming Pan-Orthodox Council Documents Raise Concern
Documents to be considered by the forthcoming Pan-Orthodox Council, scheduled to take place on Crete, give rise for concern to many European Orthodox dioceses. This was said on April 19 by the First Deputy Chairman of the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, Archbishop of Berlin and Germany Mark (Arndt), reports RIA Novosti.
The document “Relations of the Orthodox Church with the Rest of the Christian World” is the most problematic of the Pre-Conciliar documents. The ecclesiological terminology used throughout the text is ambiguous. The repeated references to “various Christian Churches and confessions” are unacceptable for us,” said the archbishop in his address at St. Tikhon’s Orthodox University in Moscow.
According to him, in Europe the tension in relations with other Christian denominations, in particular, with the Protestant communities, has increased.
Archbishop of Berlin and Germany Mark noted that this document of the Council does not say that the division of the church, which at its time was the result of schisms and heresies, continues. "We may not say to a Protestant every day that he is heretic, but we must remember this," stressed the hierarch.
The ROCOR spokesman said that the Orthodox Church cannot "just say that we suggest all should return". Also, in his opinion, it is impossible to talk about any equality of denominations.
"It would be much easier to call the forthcoming Council not a council, but a meeting. This would remove all the tension," concluded Archbishop Mark.
Read also
18th-century gates of Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra presented in London
State art historians have identified masterpieces by Kyiv goldsmiths in London.
In mosque, OCU "bishop" and DESS experts dine at iftar during Ramadan
At an iftar in Kyiv, authors of expert assessments against the UOC were awarded Islamic orders in the presence of the deputy head of DESS and a "hierarch" of Dumenko's structure.
Shevchuk tells Budanov of UGCC’s “state-building role”
The head of the Uniates told the head of the Presidential Office that his Church was ready to partner with the state and presented him with a book on the work of special services in the Church.
Authorities decline to disclose Ukraine’s population size
The State Statistics Service acknowledged that it has up-to-date population estimates for the country, but has decided not to make them public.
Lithuanian govt vows to protect Orthodox Church from Russian intelligence
Lithuania’s Foreign Ministry has called for curbing the influence of Russian intelligence services on the Church, while an adviser to President Nausėda warned against labeling the entire structure a security threat.
During Ramadan, Patriarch Theodoros hosts Islamic iftar at his residence
Patriarch Theodoros of Alexandria hosted a meal for Muslim workers breaking their fast in the courtyard of the Patriarchate and thanked a sheikh for his “brotherhood.”