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Preparatory Sessions for Ecumenical Assembly ( 01.06.2009 )

The fourth whole-orthodox pre-assembly session will take place from the 5th to 13th of June in the Orthodox centre of the Patriarchy of Constantinople in the area of Shambezi in Geneva, Switzerland. According to the information coming from the deputy of the secretary of the Foreign Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchy, priest Igor Jakimchuk, at the session will be considered the matter of the Church’s organisation of the Orthodox Diaspora (orthodox believers living outer of any of the Local Orthodox Churches).

Father Igor has also noticed that through the centuries, since the seventh Ecumenical Assembly till today, a lot of subjects arose, and they need a whole-church’s solution, from the point of view of the strengthening of the unity and in order of superseding of the separations in the wing of the One Orthodox Church. In order to resolve all such matters, a Holy and Great Assembly of the Eastern Orthodox Church has been suggested.

The preparation for this Great Assembly will be performed by announcement of Whole-Orthodox Pre-assembly meetings, and Inter-Orthodox Preparation Commissions. Three Whole-Orthodox Pre-assembly Sessions took place in the past years (Shambezi in 1976, 1982 and 1986) as well as five Inter-Orthodox Preparation Commissions (Geneva in 1971 and Sambezi in 1986, 1990, 1993 and 1999).

The current ten-year break of conference scheduling such as any activity of the Preparation Commissions as well, came as a result of the impediments in the inter-orthodox relations which was a consequence of the disagreements between the Moscow and the Patriarchy of Constantinople concerning the Church organisation in Estonia. The meeting of the Heads and Representatives of the Local Orthodox Churches, held in October 2008 in Istanbul, provided the reinstatement of the inter-orthodox collaboration directed to the preparation for a Great Holy Assembly Meeting. The next, sixth session of the inter-orthodox preparation commission is scheduled for December 2009.

Source: Двери.бг