NEW YORK – The Orthodox Theological Society of America
(OSTA) and the
Orthodox Christian Studies Center (OCSC) of Fordham U
niversity co-sponsored
and presented a “Conference in Preparation for the
Great and Holy Council of
the Orthodox Church,” the gathering representing all
the canonical Orthodox
Churches scheduled to take place in Constantinople in 201
6.
Dr. Aristotle Papanicolaou, co-founder with Dr. Georg
e Demacopoulos of OCSC,
told TNH “The conference emerged from a desire to contr
ibute and comment
upon and find a voice within the Pan Orthodox Council
of 2016.”
“It was unique in that it was quite diverse, with clerg
y, laity, and scholars. It was
pan Orthodox, with representatives even from the Coptic
Church,” he said.
Among the highlights of the June 26-27 event was OSTA’
s annual Florovsky
Lecture, presented by Metropolitan Kallistos of Diokle
ia and titled “The Decisive
Importance of Councils in the Life of the Church.”
TNH has been informed that these are the Council’s agen
da items: 1.The
Orthodox Church and the Ecumenical Movement; 2. Relatio
ns of the Orthodox
Church with the Christian World; 3. The Contribution
of the Orthodox Church to
the Realization of Justice, Freedom, Brotherhood and Lo
ve Among Peoples, and
the Elimination of Racial and other forms of Discrimin
ation; 4. Impediments of
Marriage (i.e., inter-Christian and interfaith marri
ages); 5. Fasting Regulations
(i.e., adaptation of ordinances regarding fasting); 6.
The Orthodox Diaspora,
7.Easter (i.e., the question of a common calendar); 8.
Autocephaly (and the way
it should be proclaimed); 9. Autonomy (and the way it
should be proclaimed); 10.
The Diptychs.
Not all the items have been approved yet.
In the Pope Auditorium on Fordham’s Lincoln Center cam
pus on June 26, Gayle
E. Wolloschak, OSTA president, introduced Kallistos, who
is Orthodoxy’s most
famous convert and theologian, and exponent.
Kallistos supplemented his historical presentation with hi
s observations about
preparations for the Council.
Kallistos first spoke of the life and work of Fr. Georges
Florovsly, and praised the
man who was not his professor, but whom he is honored t
o have had as a
mentor. “It was his writings,” he said, along with tho
se of Alexi Khomiakhov of the
19
th
century and Vladimir Lossky in the 20
th
“that drew me into the Orthodox
Church.”
He began his presentation by wondering, given their h
istory of turbulent
proceedings that sometimes led to schism and even violence
, whether councils
are a burden or a blessing. He noted there were alwa
ys dissident minorities that
could not be reconciled to the decisions of the council
. On the other hand, not
having councils would not make disputes disappear.
Kallistos spoke of St. Gregory of Nazianzen leaving in
disgust over the backbiting
he witnessed, but who nevertheless believed the councils’
“doctrinal decisions
are inspired by the Holy Spirit, a permanent and irrevo
cable element in Holy
Tradition.”
There are no doctrinal questions on next year’s agenda,
but many importance
councils dealt mainly with ecclesiastical matters.
He elicited laughter when he noted that the Orthodo
x world appears to run on
different time from the rest of Christendom.
The last Ecumenical Council was held in 787, although t
here have been
numerous important councils since. The 2016 council has be
en a long time
coming, however, The time the idea of a pan orthodox
council was broached in
our time was in 1903, in an encyclical by Patriarch Joachim
III.
That prompted Kallistos to wonder whether the 2016 da
te will slip.
One reason for optimism is that after many pre-concilia
r meetings of various
kinds over the past century, a date and place has been set.
The items on the agenda are important, and while Kal
listos said they are of
“secondary significance,” there are two major issues that
should be considered:
the organizations of the Orthodox Church in the West, a
nd the Orthodox
Church’s place in the ecumenical movement.
Discussions of marriage issues could a highlight, including
the complications of
mixed unions and the question of second marriages – e
specially after divorces –
for priests. Kallistos said the Ecumenical Patriarchate sa
ys no, but the churches
of Russia and Romania make exceptions.
A matter that is technically ripe for discussion is re-unio
n with the Oriental
Orthodox Churches, including the Copts and the Armenia
ns.
The International Joint Commission for Theological Dial
ogue Between the
Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches 26 ye
ars ago “reached
sufficient agreement on doctrinal matters to restore Eu
charistic communion,”
Kallistos said.
He concluded by saying he is not sure what will happen a
t the Council, and
warned people not to expect too much.
“My own hope is that the 2016 Council will be the fir
st of several such meetings.
Perhaps it will set up ongoing committees to examine pa
rticular issues. Solution
may emerge not just from a conciliar meeting or a few d
ays in duration, but from
a much longer process of consultation and exchange.”
OSTA normally has its annual meeting at one of America’
s Orthodox theological
schools but last year Fordham invited them to present a j
oint conference.
“It was fabulous. It was well-attended, the discussion wa
s at a very high level
with interesting ideas,” Wolloschak told TNH.
The information will be disseminated through Fordham’
s blog, where all the
panelists’ opening statements will be posted, along with
some of the papers.
Wolloschak is a professor at Northwestern University and
has a PhD in
biomedical sciences, but she also earned a Doctor of Min
istry in Eastern
Christian Studies. She teaches a bioethics course for St.
Vladimir’s and writes
about the relationship between religion and science.
The post Fordham the Scene of Conference on Orthodoxy’s 2016 Great and Holy Council appeared first on The National Herald.