Ecumenical Patriarchate Holds Conference Marking 10 Years Since Crete Council

CHANTILLY, FRANCE — The Ecumenical Patriarchate is holding an international conference marking the 10th anniversary of the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church, which took place in Crete in June 2016.

The conference, titled “The Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church (2016–2026): Assessment and Prospects,” began October 5 in Chantilly, near Paris, and will continue through October 8. Hierarchs, clergy, theologians, university professors, and researchers are discussing the council’s decisions and their significance a decade later.

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew delivered the opening address. Abp. John of Tirana and All Albania is also participating at his personal request. The program includes sessions examining the council’s legacy, its encyclical and message, the Orthodox diaspora, relations with other Christian communities, and the question of ecclesiastical autonomy.

Other sessions are addressing marriage and its impediments, fasting, the mission of the Orthodox Church in the contemporary world, and the social ethos of the Church. Participants include representatives of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Patriarchates of Alexandria, Antioch, Serbia, Romania and Bulgaria, as well as hierarchs and theologians from the Churches of Greece, Cyprus, Finland and Estonia, and the Catholic Church.

The conference will conclude with a roundtable discussion on the council’s assessment and future prospects. Participants include Abp. John of Albania, Metr. Job of Pisidia, Archdeacon Professor John Chryssavgis and representatives of the Patriarchates of Thessaloniki and Antioch.

Previously, the UOJ reported that Patr. Bartholomew urged four Orthodox Churches to revisit the Council of Crete.