Pan-Orthodox council discusses document on mission

June 23, 2016

On June 20 and 21, participants in the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church discussed “The Mission of the Orthodox Church in Today’s World,” one of six draft documents on the council’s agenda.

The draft document, which received unanimous approval from the heads of the 14 Orthodox churches in January, is subtitled “the contribution of the Orthodox Church in realizing peace, justice, freedom, fraternity and love between peoples, and in the removal of racial and other discriminations.”

In recent weeks, four of the 14 churches decided not to send delegations to the council.

The draft document has six chapters:

• The Dignity of the Human Person
• Freedom and Responsibility
• Peace and Justice
• Peace and the Aversion of War
• The Attitude of the Church Toward Discrimination
• The Mission of the Orthodox Church as a Witness of Love through Service

Discussion of this document began in 1976, and the subtitle-- originally the document’s title-- dates from 1986.

 

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Further information:

• The Mission of the Orthodox Church in Today’s World
• Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church
• Un mondo tante mission (L’Osservatore Romano, p. 5)