8,921
edits
Changes
→Post-Communist era (1991-Present): 2003;2007
*2001 Pope John Paul II of Rome [[Fourth Crusade#Papal Apology to Orthodox Church|apologizes to Orthodox Church]] for Fourth Crusade; [[Church of Alexandria|Chalcedonian]] and [[Church of Alexandria (Coptic)|Non-Chalcedonian]] Patriarchates of Alexandria agree to mutually recognize baptisms and marriages performed in each other's churches.
*2002 Patr. [[Bartholomew I (Archontonis) of Constantinople]] and Pope [[John Paul II]] co-sign Venice Declaration of Environmental Ethics; Lutheran-Orthodox Joint Commission issues statement "Mysteria/Sacraments as Means of Salvation."
*2003 [[Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America]] granted "self-rule" (similar but not identical to [[autonomy]]) by [[Church of Antioch]]; Coptic priest Fr. [[Zakaria Botros]] begins his television and internet mission to Muslims in North Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and western countries, resulting in thousands of conversions; an [[Inter-Orthodox Consultation on the Draft Constitutional Treaty of the European Union|Inter-Orthodox conference on the draft Constitutional Treaty of the European Union]] took place on March 18-19, in Crete, stating that the Treaty should include a clear reference to Europe's Christian heritage; the [[w:Eastern_Orthodoxy_and_Judaism#Fifth_Academic_Meeting|5th Academic Meeting between Judaism And Orthodox Christianity]] was held in Thessaloniki, Greece, on May 27-29.
*2004 Pope [[John Paul II]] returns [[relics]] of [[John Chrysostom]] and [[Gregory the Theologian]] to [[Church of Constantinople]]; Patr. [[Bartholomew I (Archontonis) of Constantinople]] consecrates church in Havana, Cuba; consecration of first Orthodox church in Antarctica by [[Church of Russia]]; [[Theotokos of Tikhvin|Tikhvin Icon]] returned to Tikhvin Dormition Monastery after six decades in the United States; [[Church of Constantinople|Ecumenical Patriarchate]] canonizes Fr. [[Alexis Medvedkov]], Fr. [[Dimitri Klepinine]], Mother [[Maria Skobtsova]], [[George Skobtsov]] and [[Elie Fondaminskii]] of the Russian emigration in France; Lutheran-Orthodox Joint Commission statement "Baptism and Chrismation as Sacraments of Initiation into the Church."
*2005 Major controversy in Ukraine involving the almost exclusively western Ukraine-based [[Eastern Catholic Churches|Uniate]] Greek Catholic Church moving its administrative centre on from Lviv to Kiev, constructing a large cathedral there, and its plans to establish a patriarchate, criticized by the Orthodox [[Church of Ukraine]] and other Orthodox.
*2006 Publication of [http://orthodox.cn/news/20060122prayerbook_en.htm first Orthodox prayer book in both Chinese and Russian], following the editions of 1948 (St. [[John (Maximovitch) the Wonderworker|John (Maximovitch)]] and of 1910 (Bp. [[Innocent (Figurovsky) of Beijing|Innocent (Figurovsky)]]); Pope [[Benedict XVI]] drops ''Patriarch of the West'' title; Russian Orthodox parish opened in Pyongyang, North Korea; Orthodox-Roman Catholic Joint Theological Commission meets in Belgrade, Serbia; Pope [[Benedict XVI]] visits Ecumenical Patriarchate, drawing criticism from [[Mount Athos]]; Abp. [[Christodoulos (Paraskevaides) of Athens]] visits Vatican; Lutheran-Orthodox Joint Commission issues statement "The Holy Eucharist in the Life of the Church;" death of Elder [[Athanasios Mitilinaios]], having authored thousands of recorded lectures in the spirit of patristic traditional Orthodoxy.
*2007 Restoration of [[full communion]] between [[Moscow Patriarchate]] and [[ROCOR]]; 1600th anniversary celebration of the repose of [[John Chrysostom]]; the [[Roman Catholic Church|Vatican]] [[w:Vatican_abolishes_Limbo|formally abolishes doctrine of Limbo]]; number of Orthodox believers in Italy reaches almost one million as a result of immigration from Romania and Ukraine; synod of over 50 bishops of the [[Church of Ukraine]] announce that the UOC-MP is "an autonomous, historical part of the Russian Orthodox Church"; Orthodox-Roman Catholic Joint Commission meets in Ravenna, Italy, 10th plenary, led by co-presidents [[w:Walter Kasper|Cardinal Walter Kasper]] and Metr. [[John (Zizioulas) of Pergamon]], agreeing upon a joint document consisting of 46 articles providing an ecclesiastical road map in discussing union; Russian delegation walks out of Ravenna talks in protest of presence of Estonian delegation ([[Church of Constantinople|EP]]); letter "[[w:A Common Word Between Us and You|A Common Word Between Us and You]]" is sent by 138 Muslim leaders from 40 nations to the leaders of the world's Christian churches, calling for understanding and commonality; the Abp. of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams welcomed Patriarch [[Bartholomew I (Archontonis) of Constantinople|Bartholomew I]] to Westminster Abbey to celebrate the publication of ''[http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/content.asp?id=32722 The Church of the Triune God: The Cyprus Agreed Statement]'', taking over 16 years to produce, concluding the third phase of the Anglican-Orthodox international theological dialogue; world's first [http://www.orthodox.cn/news/20071101dictionary_en.htm Russian-Chinese dictionary of Orthodox vocabulary] is printed in Moscow; Romania and Bulgaria enter the European Union; the International Association of Genocide Scholars passed the ''[http://www.genocidescholars.org/images/Resolution_on_genocides_committed_by_the_Ottoman_Empire.pdf IAGS Resolution on Genocides Against Assyrians, Greeks, Armenians, and Other Christians by the Ottoman Empire 13 July 2007],'' affirming that the Ottoman campaign against Christian minorities between 1914-1923 was genocide; the [http://www.bc.edu/research/cjl/meta-elements/texts/cjrelations/resources/documents/interreligious/cortho_judaism15mar07.htm 6th Academic Meeting between Judaism and Orthodox Christianity] took place in Jerusalem, March 14-15.
*2008 First Orthodox Liturgy [http://www.interfax-religion.com/?act=news&div=4495 celebrated at the North Pole]; [[Orthodox Study Bible]] (with [[Septuagint]]) published; [[Church of Ukraine|UOC-MP]] canonizes new martyrs of Vasyliivskyi, Fr. [[Serhii Shtenko]] and laymen [[Prokhor Bunchuk]] and [[Kyryl Pryima]], martyred during the communist persecution of the church in the 20th century; 14th Session of the Lutheran-Orthodox Joint Commission was held in Paphos, Cyprus; [[Metropolis of Singapore]] (Ecumenical Patriarchate) founded; [http://www.ec-patr.org/docdisplay.php?lang=en&id=995&tla=en Pan-Orthodox meeting in Constantinople] in October of the Primates of the fourteen Orthodox Churches, signing a document calling for inter-orthodox unity and collaboration and "''the continuation of preparations for the Holy and Great Council''"; Patr. [[Bartholomew I (Archontonis) of Constantinople|Bartholomew I]] authors ''[http://books.google.ca/books?id=citwDOTiWV8C&source=gbs_navlinks_s Encountering the Mystery: Understanding Orthodox Christianity Today];'' Hieromartyr Archimandrite [[Philoumenos (Hasapis) of Jacob's Well]] (+1979) is glorified by the [[Church of Jerusalem|Patriarchate of Jerusalem]].
*2009 Metr. Valentin of Orenburg and Buzuluk consecrated the first-ever Russian Orthodox temple in Rome on [[May 24]], the day of St. [[Cyril and Methodius]], being the ''Church of the Great Martyr St. Catherine'', with the blessing of Patr. Kirill; the 4th Pan-Orthodox pre-conciliar consultation was held in Chambésy on June 6-13, mandating "Episcopal Assemblies" for various regions of the world, including North America;<ref>Three Pan-Orthodox pre-conciliar consultations (Chambésy 1976, 1982, 1986) and five inter-Orthodox preparatory commissions (Geneva, 1971, Chambésy 1986, 1990, 1993 and 1999) were held in the past.</ref> On April 30 the House of Assembly of the Parliament of South Australia passed a motion recognising "the genocide by the Ottoman state between 1915-1923 of Armenians, Hellenes, Syrian and other minorities in Asia Minor";<ref>[http://hansard.parliament.sa.gov.au/pages/loaddoc.aspx?eD=2009_04_30&c=7&e=1 GENOCIDE OF THE ARMENIANS, PONTIAN GREEKS, SYRIAN ORTHODOX, ASSYRIAN ORTHODOX AND OTHER CHRISTIAN MINORITIES].</ref> Metr. [[Jonah (Paffhausen) of Washington|Jonah (Paffhausen)]] addresses inaugural assembly of [[w:Anglican Church in North America|Anglican Church in North America]] (ACNA); agreement was announced between [[St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary (Crestwood, New York)|St. Vladimir's Seminary]] and [[w:Nashotah House|Nashotah House]]; the [http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125604916994796545.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLENexttoWhatsNewsThird Vatican announced a newly created "Apostolic Constitution"], calling for the creation of new church structures, called [[w:Personal ordinariate|Personal Ordinariates]], to operate under local Roman Catholic dioceses and be administered by former Anglican clergy, clearing the way for entire congregations of Anglican faithful to join the [[Roman Catholic Church]], while preserving elements of the distinctive Anglican spiritual and liturgical patrimony;” Orthodox-Roman Catholic Joint Commission meets in Paphos, Cyprus, 11th plenary, studying the theme ''"The Role of the Bishop of Rome in the Communion of the Church in the First Millennium;"'' pilgrimmage to [[Mount Athos]] of the former Prime Minister of Ukraine [[w:Viktor Yanukovych|Viktor Yanukovych]], current leader of the opposition in parliament; Bulgaria’s Parliament approved changes to the Family Code opening the way for fast-track divorces.
