During February 2 and 3 of this year, another Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church was held in Moscow. It was an important event in the religious life of the country. But before dwelling on the issues that were subject to its consideration, it makes sense to clarify what this body of church authority is and what its history is.
Successors of the Holy Apostles
The practice of convening church councils goes back to New Testament times, when in 49 (according to other sources in 51) a council was held in Jerusalem, at which the apostles discussed the most important question - whether circumcision is necessary for the acquisition of eternal life. It was on it that a decree was passed, freeing all those who were baptized from the need to comply with most of the Jewish laws and ritual rituals prescribed by them.
In subsequent years, church councils entered into widespread practice and were regularly convened. At the same time, they were divided into two categories - Local, that is, held within the framework of one local church, and Ecumenical, one name of which indicates thatthat representatives of churches from all over Christendom took part in it.
Features of Local Councils
In the history of the church, the cathedrals of the past entered mainly by the names of the cities in which they were held, the local churches that became their organizers, the states on whose territory they were convened, as well as the religious denominations that resolved their issues at them.
Representatives of not only a wide range of clergy - from bishops to lower-level clerics, but also deputations of the laity who lived in these territories took part in the work of the Local Councils. They discussed various issues related not only to the doctrine, but also to the organization of church life, as well as to its management.
Forums of the higher clergy
Unlike them, the participants of the Council of Bishops are exclusively bishops who are convened to make decisions on the most important internal church issues. It is important to note that the division of church councils into Local and Bishops was established only in the synodal period. Previously, all major decisions related to the life of the church were made by its primate alone.
Today, the Council of Bishops is the supreme governing body of both the Russian Orthodox Church and the Ukrainian, which is part of the Moscow Patriarchate. Its status was determined by the decisions of the Local Council, held in 1945. Then the term appeared, which became its designation.
Previous Synod of Archpastors
Conference of archpastors, held inFebruary of this year in Moscow, was preceded by only one council (Bishops), held in 1961 in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. An interesting detail is that none of its participants was warned in advance that they were to participate in such a representative forum. Everyone then received only invitations to celebrate the memory of its founder, and already upon arrival they learned about the true purpose of the call. This (Bishops') Council of 1961 was held at the height of Khrushchev's anti-religious campaign, and such a conspiracy was by no means superfluous.
The newly completed Cathedral
So, the current Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church is the second in a row. Its beginning was preceded by the Divine Liturgy in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior performed by Archpriest Mikhail (Ryazantsev). Together with Patriarch Kirill, all the delegates who arrived at this largest church forum in recent years from all over the country and from abroad took part in it.
As can be seen from his published documents, as well as from the speeches of the participants in the press conference organized after the completion of the work, the main issue was preparations for the Pan-Orthodox (Ecumenical) Council scheduled for the near future, the venue of which was to be the island of Crete.
Members of the Council and its Presidium
The composition of the Bishops' Council was very numerous. Suffice it to say that it included three hundred and fifty-four archpastors, representing the two hundred and ninety-three dioceses that currently exist, united around the Moscow Patriarchate. In accordance with the presentthe current Church Charter, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill presided over it. On the first day of the work of the cathedral, he made a report in which he highlighted the main issues of the life and work of the Russian church.
The composition of the presidium, also on the basis of the requirements of the Charter, included all the permanent members of the Holy Synod. Long before the consecrated Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church began its work, in view of the importance of the issues submitted for its consideration, invitations to participate in the work were also received by some representatives of the autonomous parts of the Moscow Patriarchate, including the Metropolitans of New York, Eastern America, Latvia and a number of others.
Speech by the Head of the Ukrainian Church
The report of Metropolitan Onufry of Kyiv and All Ukraine was listened to with great interest. He told the audience about the situation in which the church headed by him is today. Particular attention to his speech was caused by the difficult political situation that has developed today in Ukraine, and the forced opposition to the self-proclaimed church existing there.
The head of the Ukrainian Church (MP) spoke about the peacekeeping role that the church entrusted to him has taken on in our days. Its shepherds and archpastors are making every effort to end hostility in a country where sometimes members of the same parish turn out to be enemies and, being blind executors of someone else's political will, plunge the country into chaos and bloodshed.
The speaker also expresseddeep gratitude to the ecclesiastical and secular authorities of Russia, who organized the delivery of humanitarian aid to the areas most affected by internecine conflicts, and expressed the hope that the current Council (Bishops) will become a tangible contribution to the establishment of peace in Ukraine.
Problems related to preparations for the Ecumenical Council
One of the main subjects of discussions that unfolded during the meetings was the upcoming Ecumenical Council, which is associated with a lot of problems of a very different nature, including those generated by groundless rumors that arose on the basis of low religious awareness of citizens and related to this superstitions.
For example, rumors are spreading that regarding this Ecumenical Council, the eighth in a row, there is supposedly a prophecy according to which it should become the Antichrist, and that a union (union) with the Catholic Church will be concluded there, fasting will be canceled, repeated marriages of white clergy and many more decrees were adopted that were detrimental to true Orthodoxy.
In this regard, Metropolitan Hilarion, who holds the post of chairman of the Department for External Church Relations, said that over the past months, his office has received many letters from citizens urging the Moscow delegation to refuse to participate in this ungodly, in their opinion, event. And a few days before the current Council (of Bishops) began its work, their number increased many times over.
The role of the cathedral in protecting the interests of the Russian church
But there were more serious issues that needed to be addressed. One of them was the intention of the organizers of the Ecumenical Council to impose on all its participants the obligatory execution of decisions taken by a majority of votes. Such a formulation of the question was fraught with obvious danger. If, for example, the majority of delegations voted for a general transition to a new church calendar, then everyone, including the Russian church, would have to obey this.
However, thanks to the perseverance and consistency of the representatives of the Moscow Patriarchate, it was possible to ensure that the decisions of the council will be valid only if all the delegations, without exception, vote for them. If there is at least one vote against, then this decision will not be valid.
And there were many such questions. Those of them that have not yet found their solution, and, according to the speaker, there are quite a lot of them, were subject to detailed discussion, to which the last Council of Bishops was dedicated. The photographs featured in the article help to visualize the businesslike working environment in which his meetings took place.
Other issues considered during the council
Among other issues included in the agenda of the cathedral was the canonization of Archbishop Seraphim, even before canonized as a saint, widely revered in Russia and Bulgaria. All the delegates unanimously cast their votes for his glorification. In addition, Metropolitan of Krutitsy and Kolomna Yuvenaly (Poyarkov) reada report on measures to perpetuate the memory of the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia, who fell victim to the terror unleashed during the struggle against the church.
With special attention, the delegates of the cathedral listened to the report of V. R. Legoyda, head of the Synodal Department for Relations with Society and the Media, on the tasks that the church faces today in connection with its presence in social networks. The speaker stressed the importance of this way of communication with the widest circle of both believers and those who have not yet found their place in religious life. In particular, he dwelled in detail on individual projects that are being prepared for implementation in the near future.
The next convocation of the Council of Bishops, according to the Church Charter, should follow no later than 2020.
