DEBRECEN, HUNGARY: September 7, 2017
Deacon Andre Psarev Speaks On the Inter-Council Presence at the Congress of Church Law in the Eastern Church

On September 3-8, 2017, the 23rd Congress of Society for Church Law of the Eastern Churches is convening in Debrecen, Hungary. The society is founded at the Law Department of Vienna University. The forum gathers every two years; this year the discussions center on the concepts of ecclesiastical primacy and sobornost’ (collegiality).

On September 6, Deacon Andrei Psarev, Assistant Professor of Church Law and Russian Church History at Holy Trinity Seminary in Jordanville, NY, of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, member of the Inter-Council Presence, delivered a lecture on that body being a manifestation of sobornost’ within the Russian Orthodox Church. The speech was accompanied by infographics, illustrations of various aspects of the Inter-Council Presence and the process by which the body adopts resolutions. The lecture was well received by the audience, which consisted of representatives of Local Orthodox Churches, as well as the Greek- and Roman-Catholic Churches.

Fr Andrei then answered questions relating to the quality of the discussions within the Russian Orthodox Church, the status of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and the status of self-governing Churches which are part of the Russian Orthodox Church. An unprecedented level of participation by laity in deliberation of documents within the framework of the Inter-Council Presence was noted.

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