The Hierarchy of the
Church of Greece in its afternoon Session,
this 15th of October 2009 and during the
first part of its Meeting of today, on the
proposal by His Beatitude the Archbishop of
Athens and All Greece Hieronymos, has
discussed the matter of the Dialogue between
the Orthodox and the Roman Catholics.
The
session began with the reading of the
document by the Ecumenical Patriarch
Bartholomew in regard to the so-called "Confession
of Faith" that has been signed by
Clergymen, Monks and laypeople - followed by
the reading of the letters by the Very
Reverend Metropolitans that were addressed
to the Holy Synod - for the purpose of
informing (the
Synod)
about the Document that was signed in
Ravenna as well as the preliminary draft of
the topics that are to be discussed in the
forthcoming days in Cyprus, on the subject
of the pope's primacy during the first
millennium. These topics had already been
discussed, in last September's Session of
the Perpetual Holy Synod.
Following the reading of the aforementioned
documents, His Beatitude invited the Very
Reverend Metropolitans: Meletios of
Nikopolis and Preveza (Chairman of the
Synodic Committee for Inter-Orthodox and
Inter-Christian Relations), Chrysostom
of Messinia (representing the Church of
Greece in the Dialogue with the Roman
Catholics) and Chrysostom of Peristeri (as a
connoisseur of these matters), to update the
Hierarchy, both on the progress of the
aforementioned Dialogue as well as on the
content of the Ravenna Document, but also
about the Meeting of the Joint Theological
Commission that will take place in the
forthcoming days in Paphos, Cyprus.
This
was followed by a very broad dialogue, in
which many Hierarchs participated, who spoke
responsibly and knowledgeably on these very
important issues. During these discussions,
the following positions were determined:
1. The need for a more
detailed updating of the Holy Synod of the
Hierarchy on these very significant issues
was made evident. It was also declared that
from now on, the Hierarchy is to be informed
of all the phases of the Dialogues,
otherwise no "document" will be considered
binding to the Church. After all, this
is defined in the Synodic Polity of the
Church.
2. The Dialogue must
continue, but within the Orthodox
ecclesiological and canonical framework,
and always following an understanding with
the Ecumenical Patriarchate, as has been
pan-Orthodoxically decided.
3. The Representatives
of our Church have, in the specific
Dialogue, a sound knowledge of Orthodox
Theology, Ecclesiology and Ecclesiastic
Tradition and are offering their knowledge
and their mettle towards the aim of "the
unity of all", "in the truth" and within the
necessary theological framework and the
decisions of pan-Orthodox Conferences.
4. The Ravenna
Document, and the text that is to be
discussed in Cyprus are subject to the
condition of reporting to and being approved
by the local Autocephalous Churches, and
subsequently by the Church of Greece,
convening Synodically. In practice
this means there will be no finalized
actions, without the Synodical approval of
the Hierarchy. Hierarchs are the guardians
of Orthodox Tradition, according to their
confession during their ordination as
Bishops.
5. As for the document
that pertains to the primacy of the pope of
Rome during the first millennium, which is
to be drafted in Cyprus in the forthcoming
days, the representatives of our Church have
received directions to appropriately ensure
that in the final text, the canonical place
of the primacy of the pope of Rome during
the first millennium is recorded, according
to the Ecumenical Synods, and in reference
to the
3rd Canon of the 2nd Ecumenical Council
and the
28th Canon of the 4th Ecumenical Council.
6. The Hierarchy of
the Church of Greece is monitoring and will
remain alert to keep monitoring the issue of
the dialogues of the Orthodox Church with
the Heterodox, which is why the document as
a "Confession
of Faith" is a redundant item.
It is further asking
the faithful to have trust in their Pastors
and abstain from actions that could possibly
create further problems.
These have been
discussed and decided upon unanimously by
the Hierarchy of the Church of Greece, with
a sense of responsibility before God, our
immaculate Faith and Tradition and our pious
people, for the glorification of God and the
glory of the Church.
From the Holy Synod of
the Hierarchy