CWN - The Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople will preside over a pan-Orthodox council in 2016, according to a statement from the patriarchate.
The decision to hold a pan-Orthodox council-- officially called the “Holy and Great Synod of the Orthodox Church”-- was announced at the conclusion of a meeting of all the heads of the Eastern Orthodox churches. During the meeting, the leaders also discussed the situation in Syria and Ukraine.
The Catholic Church has held 21 ecumenical councils, from the First Council of Nicaea (325) to the Second Vatican Council (1962-65). The Orthodox churches recognize the validity of the first seven of these councils and have not held a pan-Orthodox council, though Orthodox prelates attended the Second Council of Lyon (1274) and the Council of Florence (fifteenth century), effecting temporary reunions with the Holy See.
Additional sources for this story
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- Communiqué of the Primates of the Orthodox Churches (Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople)
- Fanar: Churches reach agreement on pan-Orthodox Holy Synod in 2016 (AsiaNews.it)
- Leaders of Orthodox churches to meet to discuss council preparations (CWN, 3/6)
- Developments in the Orthodox world bear great ecumenical promise (The City Gates)