The Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church and Its Interreligious Dialogue Approach

Abstract

The main purpose of this article is to emphasize the role of the modern Orthodox Church in interreligious dialogues, focusing on the texts of the Holy and Great Synod of the Orthodox Church of 2016 in Crete. Moreover, at the beginning, reference is made to various examples from the history of the church that underline the inseparable unity and historical continuity of tradition and present, as the Orthodox Church has never ceased to be in dialogue with other religions. Then, the article analyzes the main positions of the Holy and Great Synod that concern interreligious dialogue and highlights obstacles and concerns that arise from the dialogue. Finally, it emphasizes the need for interfaith dialogue in the years of late modernity, as religions can work together to help address global problems such as ecological destruction, war, and poverty.