Chambesy Meeting Ends

The Inter-Orthodox Preparatory Commission has finished its meeting in Chambesy, coming to a unanimous agreement on the granting of autocephaly (that it should be studied further, but that in principle all the Local Orthodox Churches should sign a tomos granting autocephaly) and autonomy (that it is granted by the mother Orthodox Church) and failing to come to any agreement on the order of the diptychs. The Albanian and Polish Orthodox Churches both appealed for the establishment of a single order in the diptychs, whilst the Georgian and Cypriot Orthodox Churches appealed for an elevation in their rank.

All of the Local Orthodox Churches were represented by hierarchs with the exception of the Church of Romania, which sent the secretary of its Holy Synod. More here.

Consensus on Autocephaly, Autonomy Procedures; Diptychs Remain Unresolved

The Inter-Orthodox Preparatory Commission meeting in Chambesy, Switzerland, has confirmed that autonomy will be granted to a particular region by its mother Orthodox Church, whilst autocephaly shall be granted by the mother Orthodox Church following the receipt of the approval of all the first hierarchs of its sister Local Orthodox Churches. The main issue still under discussion at Chambesy at the moment would appear to be the ranking of the first hierarchs of the Local Orthodox Churches in the diptychs. More here.

Inter-Orthodox Preparatory Commission Meets in Chambesy

The Inter-Orthodox Preparatory Commission begins meeting today in Chambesy, Switzerland, to discuss the procedure from granting/recognizing autocephaly (which has been varied over the centuries) and the order of the diptychs (which currently place young churches like Romania over much older churches like Georgia and Bulgaria). Fourteen of the fifteen autocephalous Local Orthodox Churches will be represented at the meeting.

The Russian Orthodox delegation to Chambesy includes Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeyev) of Volokolamsk of the Moscow Patriarchate and Archbishop Mark (Arndt) of Berlin of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad. More here.