Phanar hierarch explains to RCC cardinals how Councils "work" in Orthodoxy

The Pope and Bishop Job (Getcha). Photo: Vatican News

On 9 October 2023, Bishop Job (Gena), a representative of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, spoke at the Catholic "World Synod on Synodal Law", reports catholicnewsagency.com.

According to the Phanar hierarch, "the definition of synodality (sobornost – Ed.) of the Catholic assembly currently underway deviates 'strongly' from the Orthodox understanding."

Referring to the texts of the First Ecumenical Council, Bishop Job explained to Catholics that "a council is a deliberative assembly of bishops, not a consultative assembly of clerics and laity."

"In this regard, we can say that the understanding of synodality in the Orthodox Church is very different from the definition of synodality given by the current assembly of your Synod of Bishops," Job said.

The synod, currently taking place at the Vatican, is the first of its kind to include laypeople as voting members.

He told members of the RCC World Synod how Councils are conducted in the Eastern Church. He said there have been "certain historical circumstances" when the Orthodox Church has involved the laity in decision-making. An exception, he said, is the Church of Cyprus, where laypeople participate in the initial stage of bishop elections.

"Nevertheless, the case of the Cypriot Church is an exceptional one in modern Orthodoxy, where the practice of synodality in other cases solely involves the assembly of bishops," he said, emphasizing that during the Council of Crete, "62 advisors, including clergy, monks, and laypeople, had no right to speak or vote."

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