1920. The Synodal Encyclical: Unto the Churches of Christ Everywhere

The 1920 Encyclical is proof of the Great Church’s sensitivity toward a good witness in a world that is constantly changing and evolving. The references in the Encyclical to the signs of the times remind us of the Church’s eternal duty to speak “of the hope that is in us” (1 Peter 3:15) amid historical challenges and to highlight the same positive challenge for humankind, culture, and civilizations, in every era. It also confirms that an introverted. Orthodoxy cannot give this testimony. Isolationism does not correspond to the essence of the Gospel and has never benefited the Church […] One hundred years ago, the Great Church expressed through the Synodical Encyclical “Unto the Churches of Christ Everywhere” its anguish over the fact of division of the Christian world and proposed concrete steps towards unity through the common witness and cooperation of the Churches, primarily in practical matters. Today we, too are fighting for the course of the Ecumenical Movement after many decades of intense activity in this area. The difficulties of this project are obvious, but so are the positive perspectives and possibilities. We continue, with trust in God’s providence and with an immovable common goal, as formulated by the Holy and Great Synod of the Orthodox Church, the “final restoration of unity in right faith and love.” An Extract from the Greeting by His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew