Autonomy and Orthodox Diaspora from the Point of View of the Documents Adopted by the Holy and Great Council

Abstract

 Since the beginning of the debates on the topics which could be discussed at the Orthodox Church"™s Synod, autocephaly, autonomy, the Orthodox diaspora and the diptychs were part of the proposed themes. Their analysis during the preparatory process highlighted the fact that Orthodox Churches cannot reach a consensus regarding two of them: autocephaly and diptychs. Under these conditions, the Synaxis of the Orthodox Church"™s primates, convened in Constantinople in 2014, decided to withdraw them from the agenda. Out of the four above"mentioned themes only Autonomy and the Means by Which it is Proclaimed  and The Orthodox Diaspora were kept for debate and approval. In this paper I will briefly analyse these two documents, emphasising the contribution of the Synod to the clarification of the topics, highlighting some fundamental elements, and aspects that are as yet unresolved.

Keywords:  autonomy, diaspora, Holy and Great Council, Canon Law, canons, synodality, diptychs