The Russian Orthodox Church reacts to the decision taken by the General Synod of Church of England
By George Conger, CEN
The Russian Orthodox Church has released a statement denouncing the Church of England, calling the July 7 vote by General Synod not to create legal safeguards for opponents of women bishops an abandonment of the true faith.
The decision taken by General Synod "alienates Anglicans from the Orthodox Church and contributes to further division of the Christian world,” the Moscow Patriarchate said in a statement released on its website on Aug 1.
The Moscow Patriarchate stated that it opposed the ordination of women to the priesthood as “such a practice contradicts centuries-old Church traditions dating back to the first Christian community. Orthodox Christians consider women bishops to be even more unacceptable," the statement said.
Tradition and the common witness of the church through the ages forbad any single church from taking a unilateral step in consecrating women. Bishops were the “direct spiritual heirs of the apostles” who had been given a “special blessing to lead the people of God and a special responsibility to maintain the purity of the faith and be symbols and guarantors of the church’s unity.”
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