For the record: The Ecumenical Patriarch is NOT the Orthodox equivalent of a Pope. He does NOT have universal jurisdiction within the Orthodox Church like the Pope does within the Catholic Church and does NOT speak for the Orthodox Church except when acting as the president of his local synod of bishops or when speaking as the president of a Council. He is the spiritual leader of the worlds Orthodox Christians but has no authority to make decisions on our behalf without the rest of the bishops agreeing. It would be nice if the media could get this right. The fact that the Pope and the Ecumenical Patriarch are meeting does not in any way suggest that there is anything close to an immanent union between the two churches. It would be great if the western media could understand this and if Orthodox Christians could not be accused of hate speech for pointing this issue out.
Posted on: Sat, 24 May 2014 18:50:24 +0000
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