Russia to skip key Orthodox meet

The Russian Orthodox Church said it would not go to a historic meeting of all of the world’s Orthodox churches because other churches have walked out.

The meeting on the Greek island of Crete due to start on Sunday would be the first in more than a millennium.

The Ecumenical patriarch, however, seemed to open the door for further talks that could prevent the meeting from falling through.

Orthodox church leaders haven’t held such a meeting since the year 787, when the last of the seven councils recognised by both Orthodox and Catholics, was held. The “great schism” that divided the Roman Catholics and the Orthodox followed in 1054 amid disputes over the Vatican’s power.

Hilarion, a bishop who heads the Moscow Patriarchate’s department of external church relations, said in a televised statement that Russia would not take part if others are walking out, and suggested the meeting be postponed.

The announcement of the Russian Orthodox Church, with an estimated 100 million flock, is a heavy blow to the plans by Istanbul-based Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, who had hoped the gathering could promote unity among the world’s 300 million Orthodox Christians.

The Moscow Patriarchate last week proposed holding a preliminary meeting to discuss the controversial issues raised by the Bulgarian church and others.