Conciliar Documents Conciliar Documents

Encyclical of the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church

Encyclical of the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church
With a hymn of thanksgiving, we praise and worship God in Trinity, who has enabled us to gather together during the days of the feast of Pentecost here on the island of Crete, which has been...
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Message of the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church

Message of the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church
To God, "the Father of mercies and all comfort," we address a hymn of thanksgiving and praise for having enabled us to gather during the week of Pentecost (18-26 June 2016) on Crete,...
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The Importance of Fasting and Its Observance Today

The Importance of Fasting and Its Observance Today
Fasting is a divine commandment (Gen 2:16-17). According to Basil the Great, fasting is as old as humanity itself; it was prescribed in paradise (On Fasting, 1, 3. PG 31, 168A). It is a great...
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Relations of the Orthodox Church with the Rest of the Christian World

Relations of the Orthodox Church with the Rest of the Christian World
The Orthodox Church, as the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church, in her profound ecclesiastical self-consciousness, believes unflinchingly that she occupies a central place in the matter of...
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Autonomy and the Means by Which it is Proclaimed

Autonomy and the Means by Which it is Proclaimed
The Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church concerned itself with the matter of Autonomy and the Means by Which it is Proclaimed. Therefore, the respective document, which was submitted by...
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The Orthodox Diaspora

The Orthodox Diaspora
The Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church concerned itself with the matter of the canonical organization of the Orthodox Diaspora. Therefore, the respective documents were discussed...
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The Sacrament of Marriage and its Impediments

The Sacrament of Marriage and its Impediments
The institution of the family is threatened today by such phenomena as secularization and moral relativism. The Orthodox Church maintains, as her fundamental and indisputable teaching, that...
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The Mission of the Orthodox Church in Today’s World

The Mission of the Orthodox Church in Today’s World
For God so loved the world that he gave his Only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life (Jn 3:16). The Church of Christ exists in the world, but is not of the...
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