Synaxis of Primates concludes
At the invitation of His All Holiness, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, a Synaxis of Primates of the Orthodox Church convened at the Phanar March 6-9, 2014.
The gathering was called to consider a variety of issues related to the convocation of a Great and Holy Synod by the Ecumenical Patriarch in 2016. It is felt that such a gathering would offer the world a coherent and united Orthodox witness and voice while serving as an occasion for discerning a much-needed united Orthodox response to today’s social and moral challenges.
The Orthodox Church in America, which was granted autocephaly, or self governing status, by the Church of Russia in 1970, was not invited to the Synaxis of Primates, as many of the Orthodox Churches, while maintaining Eucharistic communion with the OCA, do not recognize its autocephalous status. Also absent from the gathering was the Church of the Czech Lands…
