Crete Council was not Pan-Orthodox - Primate of the Macedonian Church

Primate of the Macedonian Orthodox Church — Ohrid Archdiocese (MOC-OA) His Beatitude Archbishop Stefan commented on the situation in world Orthodoxy in the context of resolving the accumulated issues and problems in relations between the Local Churches. The First Hierarch noted that the decisions of the 2016 Council in Crete, organized by the Church of Constantinople, should be subject to revision, since all Orthodox Churches did not participate in it. He stated in an interview with Nova Macedonia.

«The last great Pan-Orthodox Council, which took place in Crete in 2016, was unfortunately not fully councilal, as some local Churches did not participate in it due to certain disagreements. We, as a Local Church, did not participate in the preparation and conduct of the Council because of our own unresolved issue at that time. But without the presence of representatives of all local churches, the participants of that Council could not make decisions on issues related to the fullness of the whole Church,» — said Archbishop Stephen.

In turn, the head of the Macedonian Church positively assessed the meeting between Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople and Pope Leo in Nicea. he noted that religious leaders need to seek mutual understanding and join efforts to achieve world peace.

«Regarding the recent meeting between the Ecumenical Patriarch and the Pope, I can say that it is always good when religious leaders meet and talk in a spirit of mutual understanding, as was the case with the recent meeting in Constantinople. At the meeting, the Patriarch and the Pope signed a joint declaration in which they reaffirmed their commitment to dialog and stated the need for unity, as well as condemned any use of violence and issued a joint call for peace and solidarity in the world, » he added.

Recall, earlier we reported that the hierarch of the Hellenic Orthodox Church Metropolitan Seraphim of Kythira and Antikyphyria criticized the joint celebrations with Roman Catholics of the 1700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council, held in Turkey in late November 2025 under the auspices of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. The Hierarch noted that only one — except Patriarch Bartholomew — of the Primates of the Local Orthodox Churches was present at the celebration precisely because Pope Leo XIV took part in the event. In addition, Metropolitan Seraphim stated that it was inappropriate to sign a declaration of cooperation between the Patriarch of Constantinople and the Pope because of the significant contradictions in Orthodox and Catholic theology.