Supreme Ecclesiastical Council Meets in Moscow

The first session of the Supreme Ecclesiastical Council of the Russian Orthodox Church was held today in Moscow, Russia, under the chairmanship of Patriarch Kirill (Gundyayev) of All Rus'. The Council was recently established to guide the life of the Church between hierarchical councils in accordance with the decisions of the All-Russian Council of 1917 and 1918, whose reforms were implemented in parts of the Russian Diaspora (including in what is now the American Orthodox Church), but not in Rus' itself due to the Bolshevik Revolution. More (in Russian) here.

"The Crisis of Consultation in the Church" by Fr. Touma Bitar

Fr. Touma (Bitar) has an excellent article on conciliarity in the life of the Church in the past and the present here.

The AFR Interview with Seyidna Philip and Autocephaly

As a follow-up to my last post on Ancient Faith Radio's interview with Metropolitan Philip, I must confess to find myself appalled that a hierarch of the Church of Christ could flippantly refer to having millions of dollars and to being the sole overseer of those millions. Discretionary accounts to take care of particular needs are one thing, but millions of dollars? Given to a hierarch for use in the Church? Somehow it seems like such sums should be in the Archdiocese's name, not the metropolitan's.

More and more I wonder how different Orthodoxy in the New World is from Orthodoxy in the East. Anyone who says we're not ready for autocephaly is just wrong. After all, we have all of the Old World's vices (wealthy hierarchs, the abuse of the canons, sexually abusive priests being transferred from place to place) AND also a conciliarity born of both the All-Russian Council of 1918 and the New World's democratic values. What's missing? Intercommunion with non-Orthodox? I know of at least one parish where the priest gives Communion to Episcopalians or Roman Catholics (one or the other - can't remember which) with the blessing of his bishop. So we're set! Whatever your take on everything, autocephaly is possible in our times. There's no need to wait...