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Leaders of 15 of the world's 16 Eastern Orthodox churches have vowed to work more closely together in ways that are likely to raise their international profile on moral and ethic concerns. At a meeting on December 24 at the headquarters of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomeos I, in Phanar, Istanbul, leaders of 15 autocephalous (self-governing) and autonomous Orthodox churches vowed to increase co-operation, including: the establishment of regular summit meetings to deal with current Orthodox issues; the setting up of an inter-Orthodox federation of theological schools around the world; and the foundation of an inter-Orthodox committee on bioethics.

Patriarch Bartholomeos, who is regarded as the primus interpares—first among equals—of the world's Orthodox leaders, has built a strong reputation internationally for his support for ecumenism and environmental concerns. The new moves will reinforce his primacy within the Orthodox world. However, the head of the numerically biggest Orthodox church in the world, Patriarch Alexei II of Moscow, was not present at the meeting, nor did he attend an historic liturgy the same week in Iznik, Turkey, at which heads and representatives of the 15 other Eastern Orthodox churches were present. The liturgy in Iznik marked the end of celebrations for the Christian millennium.

Patriarch Alexei's absence is linked to simmering conflict between the patriarchates of Moscow and Constantinople, particularly over the jurisdiction of Orthodox Christians in former Soviet nations such as Estonia and Ukraine. However, observers suggested that the Russian church's failure to attend the meeting would isolate it further.

The liturgy at Iznik on December 26 was hailed as one of the most important events in recent Orthodox history, not only because of the attendance of so many Orthodox leaders, but also because of its location in the ancient church of St Sophia, in the city once known as Nicaea, where the first and seventh ecumenical councils of the undivided Christian church took place in the years 325 and 787 respectively.

The church is now a museum controlled by the Turkish government which took the highly unusual step of granting special permission for a Christian liturgy to be held there at Christmas. This is being interpreted by church officials as the possible sign of a new openness of the Turkish authorities towards the Orthodox Church, which often experiences grave difficulties in Turkey, whose citizens are mostly Muslim. Turkey is eager to gain entry to the European Union, and greater tolerance of local churches is one of the ways in which it could demonstrate willingness to accept Western democratic principles.

At their meeting in Phanar, the 15 church leaders also signed a seven-page Christmas statement addressed to "the Orthodox faithful all over the Earth, our Christian brothers and sisters in the whole world, and every person of good will, with a blessing from God and an embrace of love and peace."

The statement endorsed ecumenism and dialogue with other churches, but most of it focused on the need for unity among the world's Orthodox community, expressing particular concern about splits in the church. While not naming any particular country, it is apparently aimed at old-calendarists in most Balkan countries, the Russian Orthodox Church in exile, and dissident groups in countries such as Ukraine, Bulgaria, and Montenegro where there are now rival churches, most of them created for political reasons.

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January (Web-only) 2001, Vol. 45