Orthodox Christian Leaders End Historic Meeting

[rug]

By PATRICK QUINN, ASSOCIATED PRESS
CAIRO — Jun 26, 2016, 10:53 AM ET

The leaders of the world's Orthodox Christian churches ended a historic gathering on the Greek island of Crete on Sunday hoping to repeat the meeting within a decade, despite a boycott by the Russian church — the most populous in a religion of some 300 million people — and three other churches.

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I led prayers attended by the 10 Orthodox church leaders who attended to mark the end of the weeklong Holy and Great Council — the first of its kind in more than 1,200 years.

Despite decades of preparation, Orthodox leaders failed ahead of the meeting to overcome differences on efforts to reconcile with the Vatican and some doctrinal issues.

Patriarch Kirill of Moscow did not attend, arguing that preparation had been inadequate. The Georgian, Bulgarian and Syria-based Antioch patriarchates also did not take part.

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/orthodox-christian-leaders-end-historic-meeting-40141220?yptr=yahoo

[elljay]

1. Correct me if I'm wrong

but at the core of the conflict is power. The Roman Catholic Church wants all of the Orthodox churches to accept that the Pope is the supreme authority. The Orthodox don't seem inclined to do this.

http://www.catholic.com/tracts/eastern-orthodoxy