Pan-Orthodox Movement

Pan-Orthodox Movement includes Orthodox Christians belonging to different Orthodox jurisdictions. Its aim is greater cooperation in matters of religious life and the establishment of joint organizations. The pan-Orthodox movement is particularly strong in the Orthodox diaspora .

initial situation

Due to its ecclesiology, Orthodoxy is divided into local churches and has no supreme authority. Even the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople has no authority to dispose of the local Orthodox churches, but is merely a representative honorary head of all Eastern Orthodox. To put it simply, the patriarchates are the essential organizational element of the Orthodox churches, but they are completely independent of one another. They also only have their own power in their particular church and influence the so-called autonomous churches belonging to the respective patriarchate . Autocephalous churches , on the other hand, are not tied to a patriarchy.

Pan-Orthodox Conferences

An official cooperation of all orthodox local churches, including the autocephalous ones, takes place at the so-called pan-orthodox conferences, which are convened by the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, who also presides over them. After beginning in the interwar period, the first pan-orthodox conference was held in Rhodes in 1961 . The pan-orthodox conferences all serve the difficult and therefore long-term goal of holding a pan-orthodox council . Hence these conferences are also known as pan-orthodox pre-conciliar conferences .

Current situation

Especially in times of church persecution, for example in Islamic countries, the individual Orthodox local churches work more closely together and then try to do so officially. Recently, the willingness of many local Orthodox churches to engage in pan-Orthodox cooperation has increased due to the secularization of the population and culture in almost every country. In countries where Orthodox believers as a minority have to pass their faith on to the next generation, there is mainly from below, from practicing believers, impulses for closer cooperation between Orthodox Christians in the various local churches. The national principle is often problematic here, especially if the liturgy is not celebrated in the respective national language, but in a liturgical language or the language of the respective Orthodox national church.

The pioneers of the local pan-Orthodox movement are mostly young people, as is clear from Syndesmos , the world organization of Orthodox youth founded in 1953. The canonical churches also work together in the USA .

As the only local Orthodox Church, the British Orthodox Church has declared pan-Orthodox engagement to be one of its most important concerns, especially since it is also striving for closer cooperation between Orthodox and Ancient Near Eastern churches.

In Germany , too , the pan-Orthodox movement is relatively strong, which is due on the one hand to the fact that converts like Sergius Heitz who did not belong to any specifically Orthodox nationality helped shape Orthodox life, and on the other hand it is due to the diaspora situation. For example, on May 17/18 , 2008, an Orthodox Church Congress took place in Munich on Salvatorplatz , in which most of the local Orthodox churches and institutions took part.

Institutions and groups worldwide

IOCC - International Orthodox Christian Charities
Orthodox Peace Fellowship of the Protection of the Mother of God
Orthodox PSALM - Pan-Orthodox Society for the Advancement of Liturgical Music
Syndesmos - World Fellowship of Orthodox Youth
St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary ( USA )
Orthodox Research Institute

Institutions and groups in Germany

Institutions and groups in Switzerland

In Switzerland , Orthodox parishes founded the “Working Group of Orthodox Churches in Switzerland” (AGOK) in Zurich on November 28, 2006 in order to jointly represent the concerns of the Orthodox Christians living in Switzerland.

Establishment and grouping in Liechtenstein

Due to the small size of the country (475 believers), the pan-Orthodox cooperation was the first in the region (1996) to form a uniform structure, the "Christian-Orthodox Religious Community in the Principality of Liechtenstein", which was registered under Liechtenstein law with the blessing of all Orthodox jurisdictions involved has been.