Documents

Statement of the Holy Synod of Antioch concerning the current developments in the Orthodox world

The fathers examined the general orthodox situation. They stressed that the Church of Antioch expresses Her deep worries about the attempts to change the boundaries of the Orthodox Churches through a new reading of history. She considers that resorting to an unilateral reading of history does not serve Orthodox unity. It rather contributes to the fueling of the dissentions and quarrels within the one church. Thus, the Church of Antioch refuses the principle of establishing parallel jurisdictions within the canonical boundaries of the Patriarchates and the autocephalous churches, as a way to solve conflicts, or as a de facto situation in the Orthodox World.

The fathers of the Church of Antioch underline that any approach for granting the autocephaly of a certain church has to be in accordance with the Orthodox ecclesiology and the principles agreed upon by the Churches in a conciliar way in the past years. These principles for granting autocephaly are about the necessity to obtain the agreement of the Mother Church and the acknowledgement of all the Orthodox Autocephalous Churches. The Church of Antioch affirms the necessity to resort to the principle of unanimity concerning the common orthodox work and the stand on controversial issues in the Orthodox world, and this unanimity is a true safeguard for Orthodox Unity.

The Church of Antioch warns from the dangers of implicating the Orthodox world in the international political conflicts and the resulting harms which come from approaching the Orthodox Church’s issues on the basis of politics, ethnicity, and nationalism.

The Church of Antioch calls upon His All-Holiness the Ecumenical Patriarch to call for an urgent Synaxis for the primates of the Orthodox Autocephalous Churches, in order to discuss the current developments that the Orthodox world is facing about the issue of granting autocephaly to new churches, and the efforts made to find common solutions before taking any final decisions about this issue.

The Church of Antioch highlights the necessity of spiritual vigilance in this critical period of history, and the importance of preserving the peace and unity of the Church, and to be watchful on not falling into the trap of political entanglement which history has proved to cause the Orthodox Church a weakening of Her united witness in the world.


Balamand, Lebanon
October 3-6, 2018

Print this page

Home

Other documents

• Statement by the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church concerning the encroachment of the Patriarchate of Constantinople on the canonical territory of the Russian Church 16 October 2018, 19:27
• Statement of the Holy Synod concerning the intervention of the Patriarchate of Constantinople in the canonical territory of the Russian Orthodox Church 18 September 2018, 13:34
• Message of Patriarch Kirill and the Russian Holy Synod on the 1030th anniversary of the Baptism of Russia 18 July 2018, 19:09
• Peacemaking initiative of Christian leaders in response to the situation in the Middle East 17 April 2018, 18:14
• Paschal message of Patriarch Kirill 09 April 2018, 11:15
• Nativity message of Patriarch Kirill 09 January 2018, 18:37
• Joint Declaration by Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and all Russia and Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby 28 November 2017, 18:06
• Paschal message of Patriarch Kirill 16 April 2017, 21:54
• The sermon of Patriarch Kirill after the Divine Liturgy in the Dormition Сathedral in London 17 October 2016, 12:39
• Statement by the DECR communication service of the Moscow Patriarchate due to the aggressive rhetoric of Greek Catholics 02 August 2016, 15:15
• Condolences of Patriarch Kirill over terrorist attack in Nice 15 July 2016, 15:02
• Encyclical of the Orthodox Crete forum 27 June 2016, 12:25
• Message of Patriarch Kirill to primates and representatives of local Orthodox Churches who have assembled in Crete 17 June 2016, 13:55
• Statement of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church on the situation caused by the refusal of several Local Orthodox Churches to participate in Pan-Orthodox Council 13 June 2016, 19:40
• Paschal message of Patriarch Kirill 04 May 2016, 09:24

Home