View source for Council of 2016

A council, often called the '''Great Council''' or '''Great and Holy Council''', to gather the [[primate]]s of all the autocephalous and autonomous Orthodox churches has been called for [[June 19]]-[[June 26|26]], 2016. The council was originally slated to be held at the [[Hagia Eirene (Constantinople)|Church of Hagia Irene]], the site of the [[Second Ecumenical Council]], but due in part to the strained political relations between Russia and Turkey, the venue was changed to the Orthodox Academy of [[Archdiocese of Crete|Crete]].

==History and preparations==
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==Participants==
The 14 Orthodox churches attending the council include:
*[[Constantinople]]
*[[Alexandria]]
*[[Antioch]]
*[[Jerusalem]]
*[[Russia]]
*[[Serbia]]
*[[Romania]]
*[[Bulgaria]]
*[[Georgia]]
*[[Cyprus]]
*[[Greece]]
*[[Albania]]
*[[Poland]]
*[[Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia|Czech Lands and Slovakia]]

[[Patriarch]] [[John X (Yazigi) of Antioch|John of Antioch]], [[Metropolitan]] [[Sawa (Hrycuniak) of Warsaw|Savvas of Warsaw and All Poland]], and [[Archbishop]] [[Ieronymos II (Liapis) of Athens|Ieronymos of Athens and All Greece]] will not attend the council personally.

==Agenda==
#Orthodox Diaspora.
#[[Autocephaly]] and its manner of proclamation.
#[[Autonomy]] and its manner of proclamation.
#The [[Diptychs]].
#The matter of a common [[calendar]].
#Impediments of [[marriage]].
#Adaptation of Church regulations on [[fast]]ing.
#Relations of the Orthodox churches with the rest of the Christian world.
#Orthodoxy and the [[Ecumenical Movement]].
#Contribution of the local Orthodox Churches to the prevalence of the Christian ideals of peace, liberty, brotherhood and love among peoples, and the lifting of racial and other discrimination.

The agenda items of the Diptychs, autocephaly, and the common calendar have been removed from the agenda following the pre-conciliar primatial synaxis held in Chambésy, Switzerland, in January 2016.

==External links==
*[https://www.holycouncil.org/ HolyCouncil.org] Primary website
*[https://www.orthodoxcouncil.org/ Holy and Great Council] Ecumenical Patriarch Press office website
*[https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2016/02/on-the-great-council-of-the-orthodox-church On the Great Council of the Orthodox Church] by. Archdn. [[John Chryssavgis]], February 3, 2016
*[http://www.ancientfaith.com/podcasts/svsvoices/the_33rd_annual_schmemann_lecture The 33rd Annual Schmemann Lecture] ([[Ancient Faith Radio]]) by Archdn. John Chryssavgis, including his lecture "Toward the Great and Holy Council: Retrieving a Culture of Conciliarity and Communion"
*[https://www.oikoumene.org/en/press-centre/news/orthodox-patriarchs-prepare-for-great-and-holy-council-in-june-in-crete Orthodox patriarchs prepare for Great and Holy Council in June in Crete] World Council of Churches, February 2, 2016
*[http://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2016/01/the-holy-and-great-synod-will-take.html The Holy and Great Synod Will Take Place in Crete in June 2016] (Mystagogy) January 24, 2016
*[https://www.patriarchate.org/-/keynote-address-by-his-all-holiness-ecumenical-patriarch-bartholomew-to-the-synaxis-of-the-primates-of-the-orthodox-churches-geneva-22-01-2016- Keynote Address By His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew To the Synaxis of the Primates of the Orthodox Churches (Geneva 22-01-2016)]
*[http://www.oac.gr/en/ Orthodox Academy of Crete]

[[Category:Councils]]