Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church opens amidst withdrawals

General session of the Holy and Great Council of the

Orthodox Church at the Orthodox Academy of Crete

The "Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church," meeting June 19-26 in Crete, has opened amidst the withdrawals of five of the autocephalous patriarchates from the Council--most notably the Russian church headed by Patriarch Kirill of Moscow. The story is reported by multiple international media sources; below are links to a news story and an analysis feature released by Deutsche Welle:


World Orthodox Leaders Meet in Landmark Event

Why the Orthodox Church council planned over 55 years could fail before it starts

Update: Q&A at press conference dated June 10.

Press releases, documents, links to live feeds, videos, and photos related to the proceedings of the Council are available on the Council's website and Facebook page.