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Ecumenical Patriarchate Conference

effiestar
Oct 21, 2014
6 min read

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I am proudly the first to report on today's Ecumenical Patriarchate Conference, hosted by the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Canada at the Metropolitan Centre in Toronto, Ontario.

I, along with over three hundred Orthodox parishioners and members of clergy, not limited to Orthodoxy (an Anglican Minister, a Catholic priest, and even the president of Ahepa were present) registered for this unique event weeks in advance. Today, I felt blessed to have been in the company of so many devoted Orthodox clergy and parishioners who dedicated this entire day to a fuller understanding of this movement.

After the attendees and I intermingled over a light breakfast and conversation, we took our seats in the adjacent room where we were welcomed by Master of Ceremonies, Mr. Evagelos Sotiropoulos (who, incidentally, has no relation to me). His Eminence Metropolitan Sotirios of Toronto then began his brief opening remarks from the main podium at the front of the room, during which he described his emotional first meeting with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, who was the third Patriarch he had ever met. He shared the thrice asked question during this meeting posed by His All-Holiness unto him: "How much do you love me?" His Eminence ultimately replied, "so much, that I am not worthy", to which Patriarch Bartholomew beautifully replied, "If you were worthy of my love, what worth would my love have?"

A video address was then given in both Greek and English by His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, whose election anniversary falls on October 22nd, the day after this conference. He explained that "Orthodoxy, while it is faithful to Holy Tradition... is called to respond to critical issues... this is why we call the Church a Living Tradition... our vocation is response to God's commandments." Many people are skeptical of the current Ecumenist agenda, particularly when images of our Church leaders alongisde those of other churches seem to be increasingly common. The concern is that we will compromise aspects of our religion in the name of unification with other Christian churches; many are concerned that we may be selling our pearls to swine (Matthew 7:6). Ecumenists site the extremity of current social and political problems and a refusal to alter Orthodox dogma as explanation for their trend toward unification. "The global ministry of the Ecumenical Patriarch is the order Saint Andrew was faithful to promoting", continued Patriarch Bartholomew. You will notice that Ecumenists often refer to Saint Andrew as defender of Ecumenism, as he founded the Byzantine Church and is therefore the patron saint of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. Still, many people are not convinced that the mission of Saint Andrew and of today's Ecumenists are identically motivated. You can view Patriarch Bartholomew's defense of Orthodoxy in Constantinople by viewing his 2010 60 Minutes interview, which was also played at today's conference.

The first of four main speeches was given by Fr. Maximos Constas who spoke poetically and to eager ears about the relatively unknown Saint Proclis of Constantinople's devotion to Saint John Chrysostom, and especially to The All-Immaculate Theotokos, The Panagia. "Part of what it means to be Orthodox", declared Fr. Maximos Constas, "is a love of the saints". This highly informative lecture set amongst rare icons displayed on the centred screen set a Theological tone for the conference which would eventually, and expectedly, develop into a much more political one.

After a scheduled break, which refreshed us with pastries and fruit, His Eminence Metropolitan Ambrosios Zographos of Korea enlightened us about The Ecumenical Patriarchate's missionary work in Korea, and about the spiritual struggles - and miracles - occuring there. News to most of us was the estimation that some eighty thousand Koreans convert to Christianity daily. Now, I felt, we were getting to the emphasis of this conference. "The Church is by nature missionary", he started, confirming my thought that this would be one of the more direct and controversial speeches. "Mission is the breath of the church... A church without a mission is an oxymoron... A church without this sacred mission simply is not a church". The source of his intense approach might be explained by this informative short video which he shared with us. Continuing on the conference's purpose and theme, he stated that "From the time of Apostle Andrew to date, the Ecumenical Patriarchy serves mission work with zeal and vision." This would be an elitist decision, it seemed by his later, rather direct statements that missionary work should not be spread to the masses of believers, but that it should be exclusive to the edified. He then went on to discuss the difference between quality and quantity of believers. Metropolitan Ambrosios Zographos defined seven key Theological principles which govern Christian faith as: 1-The Christian witness (prayer, preaching, example and participation) 2-An Ecumenical rather than an ethnocentric approach to faith 3-Priority should be given to divine preaching and not to charitable work 4-Spread Christian witness through life example 5- Uncompromising attitude toward error is required - with a point of distinguishing between heresy and heretics, and the statement "We should not allow fanaticism [a term that I, the writer of this review, rarely consider fairly attributed] that leads to a ghetto type" 6-The principles of freedom, including equity 7- Translation of the Bible and liturgical texts should be mandatory in order to spread The Word. Following this motivated presentation (the implication in numbers two and five particularly stuck out to me), was that of mild mannered, self-proclaimed back-pocket Catholic, Andrew Bennett, Ph.D., who seemed to win the hearts of the speakers and the audience alike. Mr. Bennett is Canada's Ambassador for Religious Freedom, a role and office established only as recently as February 19th of 2013, as per his sad statistic that "74% of the world's population lives in high level religions restriction states." He acknowledges that "The issue of religious freedom has grown in significance because of growing violence worldwide", and that "Genocidal Christian persecution [is] currently worldwide". He seems genuinely concerned about the issues he defends, citing "Truth, Dignity and Justice" as his guiding principles, or, "Immutable needs of the day", as opposed to mere values, which he considers "changeable, and mutable". "Human rights", he enforces, "depends on a fundamental understanding of human dignity." Mr. Bennett, I could not agree more. Regarding the topic of Christian persecution in Constantinople, Bennett, seemingly with some level of struggle, said "Religious freedom in Turkey is an ongoing challenge, to put it mildly". No doubt. Horrific images of Christian persecution displayed by the conference's final and most dynamic speaker, Dr. Anthony Limberakis, were not given without a fair warning of viewer discretion. Having unfortunately been exposed to many such images before in my research, I again viewed the brutal reality of Christian torture and persecution. Let us pray for these martyrs of today, and having them as the most extreme current examples of faith always ask ourselves, would we deny Christ, or would we defend His name at any cost? How much do we sacrifice for God in our daily lives? Do we even bother to discipline our minds and bodies, and in any small way give something up in the name of bettering ourselves, in the name of Christ? What are our struggles next to these martyrs? Or can we compare ours to the current suffering of the abducted Metropolitan Paul (Yazigi) and Mar Gregorios. whose peace was compromised by Syrian terrorists eighteen tiresome months ago? Can we any longer live in our vain distractions? Do we, as Saint Chrysostom so prophetically stated, "Instead want to enjoy luxury and relaxation... how to have a good time... Which of us was left hungry for the sake of spreading the Gospel?" Dr. Limberakis did not spare us of essential statistics (supported by charts and graphs which I will post here upon request, along with any other supporting materials you would like to see). It is true, for example, that with 32% of the population declaring Christ as their saviour, Christianity is the largest religion in the world. With 86% of North America as Christian, 79% of the US population and nearly 70% of the Canadian population identifies with Christianity. Meanwhile, 76% of the European population is Christian, and of these, 27% are Orthodox. In the Middle East, 4% are Christian, and of these, 1.6% are Orthodox. Dr. Limberakis' statistics evidence drastic declines in Orthodox faithfuls in Turkey, which he attributes to the country's concentrated ethnic cleansing - a gruesome fact that requires more attention and prayer.

Before the conference adjourned, I witnessed the rareity of Archbishop Sotirios' pausing to collect himself amidst his closing remark that we pray for Patriarch Bartholomew. "He suffers so much", said His Eminence after the pause, emphasizing yet again his love and respect for his Patriarch, and for the Ecumenical Patriarchate at large.

Want more details about the conference, or about any of the speeches? Please ask! No question is too specific, no question is too broad. If you've thought of it, that means someone else wants to know the answer too... you can just be the brave one who asked. Let's get talking! Post your comments in the comments section below.