Inter-Orthodox Consultation for a Response to the Faith and Order Text “The Church: Towards a Common Vision”

Abstract

In 2013 the Commission on Faith and Order of the World Council of Churches (WCC) published the text entitled "The Church: Towards a Common Vision" 1 (TCTCV) as a result of several years of research, consultation and discernment in field of ecclesiology. An important part in the process of formulating this document was the consultation of WCC member churches and further Faith and Order Commission constituencies at their different levels. Already when the text reached a preliminary level and has been published under the title "The Nature and Mission of the Church," 2 churches, academic and ecumenical institutions etc. were invited to formulate comments and proposals for improving the text. A consultation held 2-9 March 2011 in Agia Napa/Paralimni, Cyprus, and hosted by His Eminence Metropolitan Vasilios of Constantia-Ammochostos featured several concrete and precise proposals for redrafting the text. 3 The final text of TCTCV incorporated many of the suggestions made at the Agia Napa/Paralimni consultation. The WCC Central Committee in 2012 which received the final version of TCTCV and sent it also to WCC member churches "to encourage further reflection on the Church and seek their formal responses to the text." As a response to the call of WCC Central Committee, an inter-orthodox consultation with participation of Eastern and Oriental Orthodox hierarchs, priests, deacons, university professors, lay (male and female) and youth took place in Paralimni, Cyprus from 6-13 October 2016, upon the invitation of WCC and thanks to the gracious hospitality of His Eminence Metropolitan Vasilios of Constantia-Ammochostos. The goal of the consultation was to formulate a common Orthodox response to TCTCV. This response is encapsulated in the final document