Moscow Patriarchate

What Kind of Religious Persons Were Invited to the USSR, and Who Was Allowed to Go Abroad (1943–1985)

“Orthodox Factor” in Soviet Diplomacy: International Communications of the Moscow Patriarchate in the mid-1940s

Controversial Ecclesiological Issues of the Pan-Orthodox Council Agenda and the Question of Sovereign Power in the Orthodox Church

The article discusses ecclesiological issues that were included in the agenda of Pan-Orthodox Council but found no solution in the pre-conciliar debates: the Orthodox Diaspora; proclamation of autocephaly; the role of the Diptychs. The author then examines the issue of primacy in the Universal Church. All these questions can be combined and connected with the issue of the supreme or sovereign power in the Orthodox Church: its localization and mechanics for the implementation.

History of the Preparation of the Pan-Orthodox Council

The present article addresses the history of the preparations of the Pan-Orthodox Council since 1923, when the Pan-Orthodox Conference was held in Istanbul, until January 2016, when the Synaxis of the Primates was held in Chambésy, Switzerland. This article describes distinctive features and main events of the pre-conciliar process at its different stages as well as retraces the formation of the Council’s agenda and the evolution of its preparatory procedure.