THEOLOGIA ORTHODOXA Vol. 62, No. 1, June 2017 The Holy and Great Council (2016) STUDIA UNIVERSITATIS BABEŞ‐BOLYAI THEOLOGIA ORTHODOXA Vol. 62, No. 1 (June 2017) EDITOR‐IN‐CHIEF: VASILE STANCIU, Babes‐Bolyai University, Romania EXECUTIVE EDITORS: NICOLAE TURCAN, Babes‐Bolyai University, Romania GABRIEL GÂRDAN, Babes‐Bolyai University, Romania EDITORIAL BOARD: IOAN CHIRILĂ, Babes‐Bolyai University, Romania ȘTEFAN ILOAIE, Babes‐Bolyai University, Romania PHILIP LEMASTERS, McMurry University, United States THEODOR NIKOLAOU, Ludwig‐Maximilians‐Universität München, Germany KONSTANTINOS NIKOLAKOPOULOS, Ludwig‐Maximilians‐Universität Germany EUGEN PENTIUC, Holly Cross, Brooklin, United States Acad. IOAN‐AUREL POP, Babes‐Bolyai University, Romania ADOLF MARTIN RITTER, Ruprecht‐Karls‐Universität Heidelberg, Germany HANS SCHWARZ, Universität Regensburg, Germany MARIAN SIMION, Harvard University, United States LUCIAN TURCESCU, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada EDITORIAL ASSISTANT: RĂZVAN PERȘA, Babes‐Bolyai University, Romania ADVISORY BOARD: Metropolitan ANDREI ANDREICUȚ, Babes‐Bolyai University, Cluj‐Napoca, Romania VALER BEL, Babes‐Bolyai University, Romania DANIEL BUDA, Lucian Blaga University, Sibiu, Romania IOAN‐VASILE LEB, Babes‐Bolyai University, Romania ALEXANDRU MORARU, Babes‐Bolyai University, Romania RADU PREDA, Babes‐Bolyai University, Romania CRISTIAN SONEA, Babes‐Bolyai University, Romania STELIAN TOFANĂ, Babes‐Bolyai University, Romania PROOFREADERS: MARK MADELEY, Bruxelles ADRIAN PODARU, Babes‐Bolyai University, Romania RĂZVAN PERȘA, Babes‐Bolyai University, Romania ANIELA SILADI, Babes‐Bolyai University, Romania IOANA SONEA, Babes‐Bolyai University, Romania http://studia.orth.ro http://www.studia.ubbcluj.ro/serii/th_orth/ EDITORIAL OFFICE: Episcop Nicolae Ivan Str., f.n., Cluj‐Napoca, Romania, Email: [email protected] (Principal Contact) © Photo on the front cover: Florin Florea YEAR Volume 62 (LXII) 2017 MONTH JUNE ISSUE 1 PUBLISHED ONLINE: 2017‐06‐15 PUBLISHED PRINT: 2017‐06‐30 ISSUE DOI:10.24193/subbto.2017.1 Thematic issue The Holy and Great Council (2016) Guest Editor: Patriciu Dorin Vlaicu CONTENTS The Holy and Great Council of Crete (2016) VIOREL IONIȚĂ, The Participation of the Local Orthodox Churches in the Preparatory Process of the Holy and Great Synod – Prerequisite for the Reception of Its Decisions .................................................................................................... 5 ALEXANDER RENTEL, Examining the Rules of Consensus from the Canonical Perspective ............................................................................................................................. 1 7 ANDRZEJ KUŹMA, The Documents of the Great and Holy Council of 2016 Concerning the Inner Life of the Orthodox Church. Development of the Documents’ Content ............................................................................................................ 29 RĂZVAN PERȘA, The Canonical Tradition of the Orthodox Church and the Holy and Great Council: between Reception and Rejection .................................. 39 IRIMIE MARGA, The Holy and Great Council of the Orthodoxy According to Rev. Prof. Liviu Stan ............................................................................................................ 73 VENIAMIN GOREANU, The Settlement of Canonic Tradition in the Document “The Importance of Fasting and Its Observance Today” ....................................... 83 RASTKO JOVIC, The Importance of Fasting and Its Observance for Tomorrow ...... 103 PATRICIU DORIN VLAICU, Autonomy and Orthodox Diaspora from the Point of View of the Documents Adopted by the Holy and Great Council................. 115 RĂZVAN PERȘA, A Canonical Analysis of the Most Controversial Phrase of the Holy and Great Council: “The Orthodox Church Accepts the Historical Name of Other Non‐Orthodox Christian Churches and Confessions that Are Not in Communion with Her” ............................................................................... 131 EMILIAN‐IUSTINIAN ROMAN, Debating the Documents of the Holy and Great Synod of Crete ‐ a Canonical and Disciplinary Approach. Case Study: the Archbishopric of Iaşi ........................................................................................................ 159 Varia BENEDICT (VALENTIN) VESA, The Soul’s Powers and the Process of Knowledge in the Writings of Simon Taibuteh: between Anatomy and Spirituality ....... 171 NICHIFOR TĂNASE, “Shining Face” as Hidden and Revealed Christology ......... 187 ADRIAN EUGEN TRUȚĂ, Mystical Experience in Paul Evdokimov’s Perspective .... 217 Book Reviews Irina Gorainoff, Sfântul Serafim de Sarov. Convorbirea cu Motovilov [Saint Serafim from Sarov. The Conversation with Motovilov], Translated in Romanian by His Most Holiness Andrei Andreicuţ, Cluj‐Napoca: Renaşterea Publishing House, 2016 (MAXIM MORARIU) ....................................................... 227 Protos. Dr. Benedict Vesa, Personalităţi duhovniceşti contemporane [Contempo‐ rary spiritual personalities], 1st volume, Cluj‐Napoca: Renaşterea, 2016 (MAXIM MORARIU) ......................................................................................................... 229 SUBBTO 62, no. 1 (2017): 5‐16 DOI:10.24193/subbto.2017.1.01 HOLY AND GREAT COUNCIL OF CRETE (2016) THE PARTICIPATION OF THE LOCAL ORTHODOX CHURCHES IN THE PREPARATORY PROCESS OF THE HOLY AND GREAT SYNOD – PREREQUISITE FOR THE RECEPTION OF ITS DECISIONS VIOREL IONIȚĂ* ABSTRACT. In this paper the author emphasises the preparation, the proceedings and the reception process of the Holy and Great Council, that is one of the most complex radiographies of the Orthodox Church evolution out of a late Middle Ages to the present postmodern challenges. All these challenges have shown that the identity of the Orthodox Church is ensured through her faith transmitted through the Orthodox worship, which is the written expression of the Holy Tradition. Keywords: Holy and Great Council, participation, preparation, reception, Pan‐ Orthodox Conferences. I. The Preparation, the proceedings and the reception process of the Holy and Great Synod is one of the most complex radiographies of the Orthodox Church evolution out of a late Middle Ages to the present postmodern challenges. Preceded by changes in the life of the Orthodox Churches during the second half of the nineteenth century, the preparation of this Synod began in the third decade of the last century through a series of consultations between the local Orthodox Churches, then emerged formally in 1961 through the first Pan‐ Orthodox Conference at Rhodes and entered the practical Preparation in 1976 at the first Pan‐Orthodox Pre‐Conciliar Conference. During this period of one and a half century, the Orthodox Church went through unprecedented organizational changes in the emergence of new Autocephalous Churches and elevating some of them to the rank of Patriarchate. Another development was the spread of the * Rev. Professor, Bucharest/Geneva. E‐mail: [email protected]. VIOREL IONIȚĂ Orthodox tradition worldwide, following the migration of millions of Orthodox believers out of their traditional area into countries outside the Orthodox canonical territory. This latter phenomenon has led to the constitution of the Orthodox Diaspora, which is to this day a great challenge but also a missionary chance for the local Orthodox Churches. Thus, a Church reduced to a political and cultural space, traditionally the Church of the East, the Orthodox Church has now become an universal Church in the geographical sense of the term. In addition to these developments, most of the local Orthodox Churches were sometimes dramatically confronted with the extremist ideologies and political systems of the twentieth century. Another development during this period of time was the increase of contacts between the Orthodox Churches with other Christian communities and other religions. All these challenges have shown that the identity of the Orthodox Church is ensured through her faith transmitted through the Orthodox worship, which is the written expression of the Holy Tradition. As the Orthodox worship remained the same in any cultural context, this demonstrated that the Orthodox faith was not affected by the cultures in which it was adapted and affirmed during the twentieth century. But this cultural diversity has led to a diversification and development of Orthodox theological thinking especially in the Diaspora. Thus, over the past century one has noticed an enrichment of the Orthodox Theology, which was received but not uniformly in all Orthodox Mother Churches. All the challenges the Orthodox Churches were facing in this period of time have highlighted the need for the formulation of common answers of all these churches, which imposed the idea of the preparation and convocation of a Synod for the whole Orthodox Church. II. During the preparations for a Synod of the whole Orthodox Church the attention of theologians and of the Synods of the local Orthodox Churches was mostly focused on identifying issues to be discussed at this Synod. After proposals of themes made from several Orthodox Churches, as the ones by the Primate Metropolitan Miron Cristea of the Romanian Orthodox Church in 1920,1 the Ecumenical Patriarchate held, from 8 to 23 June 1930 at the Vatopedi Monastery on Mount Athos, an Inter‐Orthodox Preparatory Commission which approved a list of 17 themes, including “most urgent issues”2 to be discussed at a Pro‐Synod, which was an intermediary Pan‐Orthodox level