Although the Orthodox-Catholic Church of America (OCCA) is not a participant in nor is it governed by any resolutions of the Holy and Great Council, nevertheless, any potential decrees therefrom may impact future ecumenical relations between and among all Christian bodies, especially those which share traditions of apostolic succession and common creeds. It seems prudent, therefore, to keep oneself informed.
The following excerpt from The Huffington Post provided an interesting perspective on the council, revealing the difficult struggle in obtaining consensus within a conciliar Church:
“It bears re-emphasizing that there was no equivocation at the Holy and Great Council that only the Orthodox Church possesses the fullness of the Christian faith and has valid sacraments.
The storyline spread by many ultra-conservatives on this issue is not rooted in reality; the assumptions and corresponding claims made are disconnected from the deliberations in Crete.
What is required is care and vigilance. More broadly, resurrecting the Church’s synodal system (which Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew has worked tirelessly to do) is required to ensure that Holy Tradition is properly preserved and protected – from ultra-conservatives but also from ultra-liberals who wish to promote a secular spirit foreign to Orthodoxy.
The arbiter of truth is not anyone with an Internet connection, nor a metropolitan with a microphone.
Let us therefore escape the trap of ‘egocentrism’ described by Archbishop Anastasios. Having an open mind and remaining faithful to Orthodoxy are not mutually exclusive. Whenever the Church faced external threats or internal upheavals, people of goodwill came together to collaborate and safeguard the unity of faith and Holy Orthodoxy. So it should be today.”
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