The spiritual seat of the world's Orthodox Christians today (June 3, 2016) issued a call for unity ahead of the first ever meeting of the faith's 14 independent ethnic churches that is expected to discuss the churches' common future and efforts to heal the nearly 1,000-year rift with Roman Catholics, according to the Fox News website.
The meeting later this month on the Greek island of Crete will be convened by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, the Istanbul-based spiritual leader of the world's 300 million Orthodox Christians. Bartholomew's spokesman, the Rev. John Chryssavgis, said that the June 19-26 gathering's "sole purpose is the affirmation of unity."
All the Orthodox churches -- old and new that emerged over the centuries -- have never met like this since the "Great Schism" of 1054, when the Orthodox and Roman Catholics split after disputes over the Vatican's power.
The Ecumenical Patriarchate -- which is based in Istanbul -- said the "Holy and Great Council is a unique and historical occasion." Preparations for the meeting have been underway since 1961, when the planning first began.
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