“The Holy Great Synod of the Orthodox Church will meet in 2016, close to the Pentecost feast, in Constantinople, in the famous Holy Church of Saint Irene where the 2nd Ecumenical Synod was held”, His Eminence Metropolitan Nifon, Archbishop of Targoviste and Patriarchal Exarch declared for Basilica Press Centre.
The Primates of the Orthodox Churches met in Synaxis at Constantinople, with the working sessions held from Thursday morning, 6 March, till Saturday night, 8 March, at the church of Saint Great Martyr George in Phanar district of Constantinople (Istanbul). The document comprising the conclusions of the meeting was signed last night.
His Eminence Metropolitan Nifon, Archbishop of Targoviste and Patriarchal Exarch provided more information: “By God’s grace, the Synaxis session ended once the agreement among all the Primates of Churches was signed. Certainly, for the entire Orthodoxy and echo for the whole of Christianity too this is a special historical moment because it is true that there are more interpretations of the Holy Great Synod of the Orthodox Church. First of all, such a Synod with such an authority will take place rather soon, after 1100 years. This is why the decisions taken are quite precise. First of all the Holy Great Synod of the Orthodox Church will take place in 2016 close to the Feast of the Pentecost in Constantinople, in the famous Holy Church of Saint Irene where the 2nd Holy Ecumenical Synod took place (in 381). Certainly, the Synod is being prepared, the Preparatory Committee was set up which will meet this year and according to the regulations in force regarding the preparatory process of the Holy Great Synod, the pre-synodal conference to be held next year in spring will also review the last themes established many years before by the pre-synodal preparatory conferences. This is why today, the concelebration of the Primates of the Orthodox Churches will take place which represents the expression of the canonical unity and certainly of celebration too in the Orthodox Church so that the message approved today will be conveyed to the entire world through mass-media and read at the Divine Liturgy by His Holiness Bartholomew, Patriarch of Constantinople. Let us glorify God for this special historical event so that we all have the duty to pray for the success of this Synod of the Orthodox Church and contribute, at the same time, to an efficient preparation designed to bear good fruits to the Church. The mission of the Church in today’s society will be stimulated and I am sure that all the preparatory stages will illustrate it through adequate theological studies and debates concerning the nature and purpose of this Pan-Orthodox Synod for our time, so that we pray God to help us bring our contribution to the success of this Pan-Orthodox Synod of major importance for the life of the Church in the contemporary world.
Today, 9 March 2014, the Orthodoxy Sunday, the Primates of the Orthodox Churches celebrate the Divine Liturgy in the Cathedral of Saint Great Martyr George of the Ecumenical Patriarchate situated in Phanar district of Constantinople.
The Primates of the Orthodox Churches celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.
The Divine Liturgy was celebrated by 12 Primates of Orthodox Churches:
+ Bartholomew, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople,
+ Theodor II, Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa,
+ Teophilus III, Patriarch of Jerusalem,
+ Kiril, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia,
+ Irineus, Patriarch of Serbia,
+ Daniel, Patriarch of Romania,
+ Neofit, Patriarch of Bulgaria,
+ Ilia II, Patriarch of Georgia,
+ Chrysostom II, Archbishop of Cyprus,
+ Ieronim, Archbishop of Athens and All Greece,
+ Sava, Metropolitan of Warsaw and All Poland,
+ Anastasie, Archbishop of Tirana and All Albania.
After reading the Holy Gospel, Archimandrite Bartholomew Samaras, Secretary of the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate read the common communiqué of the Primates of the Orthodox Churches.
To end with the Divine Liturgy, a procession with the icons followed in the yard of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, and then the Primates of the Orthodox Churches blessed the people from the balcony of the Patriarchal Palace.
We learned more details from Aurel Moisiuc, Trinitas Radio reporter present at the event: “Each hierarch carried an icon in his hands, and His Holiness Bartholomew, Ecumenical Patriarch, read the icon blessing prayer in the end and blessed all those present. The document comprising the conclusions of the Synaxis of the Primates of the Orthodox Churches was read during the Divine Liturgy. The Pan-Orthodox Synod was scheduled to be held in 2016, in the old city of Constantinople. The working sessions on specialised departments were set up to analyse the preparatory works. The conclusions include the Pan-Orthodox Synod themes that will be resumed, analysed and discussed within the Preparatory Councils. Tonight, His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel has scheduled a visit to the Romanian community in Istanbul, more exactly to the church of Saint Martyr Paraschevi of Istanbul.”
