The Primates of the Orthodox Churches have gathered today, 6 March 2014, in the St George church in the Phanar, Istanbul. The gathering began with a Te Deum (thanksgiving) service.
The Synaxis that prepares the works of the Holy and Great Synod of the Orthodox Church was opened by His Holiness Bartholomew, Ecumenical Patriarch, who emphasized the necessity of organizing such meetings with the Primates of the Autocephalous Orthodox Churches in order to confess together the unity in faith and to give answers to the problems that the contemporary society faces.
His Beatitude Daniel, Patriarch of Romania, delivered a speech in the plenary session of the Synaxis entitled The Pan-Orthodox Synaxis – a Representative Spiritual Event, in which His Beatitude presented the role and the responsibility of the Primates of Autocephalous Orthodox Churches in front of the challenges of the contemporary world.
There are 13 delegations of the Orthodox Church that participate in the Synaxis of the Primates of the Autocephalous Orthodox Churches. The meeting ends on the 9th of March 2014, on the Sunday of Orthodoxy, with the concelebration of the Divine Liturgy.
