22 January 2016
Bartholomew, the Archbishop of
Constantinople-New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch is to chair a meeting
of Orthodox primates in Chambésy, Geneva, Switzerland from 21 to 28 January.
The aim of the meeting is to prepare for a larger
Orthodox convocation, the Great and Holy Council of the Orthodox Church,
scheduled to take place later in the year.
The office of the chief secretary of the Holy and Sacred
Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate characterizes the meeting as a
synaxis, or gathering of the heads of autonomous Orthodox churches, and
it will be chaired by Patriarch Bartholomew.
“All of the primates have declared that they will attend the synaxis in person,” said the statement, “with a few exceptions”.
Patriarch John X of Antioch and Metropolitan Sawa of
Poland are unable to attend due to health reasons, and Archbishop
Ieronymos of Athens and All Greece will be absent for personal reasons.
All three will be represented by officially authorized delegates.
“The synaxis will deal with matters related to
preparation for the Holy and Great Council, which has been scheduled to
convene this year,” said the Orthodox statement.
A divine liturgy will be celebrated in the Church of
St Paul, at the Orthodox Centre of Chambésy, with Ecumenical Patriarch
Bartholomew presiding and the other primates co-celebrating with him.
The title “Ecumenical Patriarch” dates to the sixth century and historically belongs to the Archbishop of Constantinople.
The preparation for the forthcoming Great and Holy
Council of the Orthodox Church has been years in the making, and the
agenda was formulated by the Pre-Conciliar Pan-Orthodox Conference, in
Chambésy, held from 21 to 28 November 1976
The WCC is a fellowship of 345 member churches who together represent
more than half a billion Christians around the world. WCC member
churches can be found in all regions of the world and include most of the world's Orthodox churches (Eastern and Oriental).
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