Russian Orthodox Church speaks on the need for new "Amman format" meetings

In the Church and the World program on the Russia 24TV channel, Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeyev), the Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, said that inter-Orthodox consultations in the Amman summit model are necessary.

“Communion between Orthodox Churches is absolutely necessary. The fact that the Patriarch of Constantinople has withdrawn himself from convening the Orthodox Churches for mutual consultations does not mean we cannot create some other meeting and interaction format. This format was proposed by Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem,” said the head of the DECR MP.

Metropolitan Hilarion noted that the meeting of the Primates and delegations of the Orthodox Churches in Amman in 2020 was held in a fraternal atmosphere and became very successful.

“I think such meetings are necessary, because it will be difficult for the Local Orthodox Churches to coordinate their actions otherwise,” Metropolitan Hilarion stressed.

The hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church recalled that Churches often have to face common challenges and problems. For examples, the current challenges include the pandemic and related restrictions.

“We have something to talk about. We have experience that we can exchange, and consultations in this sense are very useful and very important. Moreover, they are of particular importance in a situation when the family of Orthodox Churches has been divided, when, as a result of the actions of the Patriarch of Constantinople, a group of Churches has been formed that recognize the Ukrainian schism, recognize the people without any canonical ordination as bishops and concelebrate with them.”

“In order to resolve the issue at the inter-Orthodox level, such consultations are needed. We are grateful to the Patriarch of Jerusalem for his initiative. If such an initiative is taken again, we will surely respond to the invitation,” Metropolitan Hilarion emphasized stating that similar situations had already taken place in church history.

As the UOJ reported earlier, the Patriarch of Jerusalem said he was looking forward to a meeting of the Primates in the coming months.

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