In English

Crete, 20.04.2016. Your All-Holiness, Your Holinesses, Eminences, Excellences, Reverend Brothers Priests, Brothers and Sisters participants of the Holy and Great Council, God the Almighty, One in the Holy Trinity, has blessed us to gather today, after long hours of work and many preparations, at this beautiful island of sunny Greece – Crete in order to begin, by the solemn Divine Liturgy and invocation of the Holy Spirit, the Holy and Great Council of 2016. Polish Orthodox Church taking part at this council, led by its head, the bishops, representatives of clergy and lay people, greets the Holy Council with the words: “Christ is in our midst, He is and He will be”. Peace be unto all! We give thanks to Christ, the Head of the Holy ...

TOAST BY HIS ALL-HOLINESS ECUMENICAL PATRIARCH BARTHOLOMEW CHAIRMAN OF THE HOLY AND GREAT COUNCIL OF THE ORTHODOX CHURCH AT THE OFFICIAL Luncheon HOSTED IN HIS HONOR AND IN HONOR OF THEIR BEATITUDES THE PRIMATES OF THE ORTHODOX AUTOCEPHALOUS CHURCHES BY HIS EXCELLENCY PROKOPIOS PAVLOPOULOS PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF GREECE  (Heraklion, Crete, June 19, 2016) Your Excellency, President of the Hellenic Republic, Your Beatitudes, Eminences and Friends, Beloved Mr. President of the Hellenic Republic, we express our joy for the presence of our Modesty and all the brother Beatitudes the Primates of the Most Holy Orthodox Autocephalous Churches at this luncheon that Your Excellency has graciously offered. It is a well-known fact that the relations between Church and State have gone through many phases, but regardless of the different ways we may characterize ...

Crete, Monday, 20 June 2016 Your Holiness, Your Beatitudes, Your Eminences, Most reverend participants in this Council, The Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Churches is at the same time a rare event, and the beginning of normality, because synodality is a canonical rule of the life of the local Churches, in order to express the unity of Orthodox faith, of sacramental life and of canonical discipline of the One, Holy, Universal (Catholic) and Apostolic Church. If synodality is a canonical rule at local level, it must also be a rule at universal pan-Orthodox level. Synodality or conciliarity is fulfilled in the sacramental concelebration of the Holy Eucharist, in order to express both the unity of Orthodox faith and the Mystery itself of the communion ...

The video for Press Briefing for Holy and Great Council, on June 21, 2016 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vd1-4V8rg0Q

 Read the text of Press Briefing for the Holy and Great Synod, given at June 21, 2016. Text is available here.

What is paradise? ‘Christ’, said the Elder. ‘When you love Christ, despite the sense of sinfulness and of your weaknesses, you feel certain that you’ve overcome death, because you’re in the communion of Christ’s love. May God make us worthy to see the face of Christ, both here on earth and there where we’re going’.

Let us consider those sins that some people call ‘lesser’ and which are not, of course, mortal, but still bear a certain weight of guilt. We sometimes fall into these through inattention or ignorance, sometimes through languor and weakness of will, and, on other occasions deliberately, with our full knowledge and will. The greater weight of guilt belongs to the last category. A sin can be considered lesser when we compare it to a mortal one. But it’s not to be taken lightly when we see it in isolation and for itself. For example, a lake may be called small in comparison to a vast expanse of sea. But it’s not small in itself, since it contains a great deal of ...

The Holy and Great Council commences. The Holy and Great Council commenced its work at the first day at the Orthodox Academy of Crete.  In his Introductory Address, His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew made reference to the history of the attempts over many years for the Council to be assembled, emphasizing that there was no possibility for postponement.  His All-Holiness expressed his disappointment at the decision of certain Local Autocephalous Orthodox Churches, which after decades of preparation, failed at the last moment to honor their written agreement, and are not participating in the Holy and Great Council, underlying at the same time the need to preserve unity since the Orthodox Church is one and does not constitute a confederation of Churches. The Primates of ...

Malicious envy is unjust hatred towards a person who enjoys some good thing, hatred that’s relentless and unyielding. It’s a difficult passion which can inveigle people into ignoring even their own salvation. It tarnishes anything good.

For the sake of clarity, as the Church’s stand on abortion was previously defined, it now becomes necessary to give a short definition of the concept of oikonomia (economy) which application in possible response to abortion is being considered. Oikonomia is succinctly defined by Greek Orthodox moral theologian, Rev. Stanley Harakas, as:30 ...the carrying out of the spirit rather than the exact and rigid letter of a law without a contravention of any prescription, canonical or legal. It addresses the issues of human and spiritual well-being as they relate to the application of church rules. In his book, A Dictionary of Greek Orthodoxy, Rev. Nicon D. Patrinacos gives a more in-depth definition:31 According to Orthodox Canon Law, the term economia (oikonomia) ...

The enemy often wounds our soul and scorches us with his wickedness. Unless we heal that wound straight away with fervent prayer and faith, it’ll turn to gangrene in our hearts. God also wounds our heart, though with His love, but this is a sweet wound and welcome. It doesn’t burn, but warms and enlivens.

HOMILY BY HIS ALL-HOLINESS ECUMENICAL PATRIARCH BARTHOLOMEW CHAIRMAN OF THE HOLY AND GREAT COUNCIL OF THE ORTHODOX CHURCH AT THE CONCELEBRATION OF THE DIVINE LITURGY IN THE METROPOLITAN CHURCH OF ST. MINAS IN HERAKLION, CRETE WITH THEIR BEATITUDES THE PRIMATES OF THE HOLY ORTHODOX CHURCHES (Sunday of Pentecost, June 19, 2016) Your Beatitudes, Holy Brother Primates of the local Orthodox Churches, Theodoros of Alexandria, John of Antioch, Theophilos of Jerusalem, Kirill of Moscow, Irinej of Belgrade, Daniel of Bucharest, Neophyte of Bulgaria, Ilia of Georgia, Chrysostomos of Cyprus, Ieronymos of Athens, Sawa of Warsaw, Anastasios of Tirana, and Rastislav of Prešov, together with Your honorable delegations, Your Excellency Mr. President of the Hellenic Republic, Your Eminence Archbishop Irenaios of Crete, together with the Most Reverend and beloved brothers who, together with you, comprise the ...