Holy Synod of Milan
Encyclopedia
The Holy Synod of Milan, also known as the Milan Synod, is an autonomous
Autocephaly
Autocephaly , in hierarchical Christian churches and especially Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches, is the status of a hierarchical church whose head bishop does not report to any higher-ranking bishop...

 Eastern Orthodox Church
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...

 in Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...

, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

.

It began as the Diocese for Western Europe of the Old Calendarist
Greek Old Calendarists
Greek Old Calendarists are groups that separated from the Orthodox Church of Greece or from the Patriarchate of Constantinople, precipitated by disagreement over the abandonment of the traditional Julian Calendar.- History :Up until the early 20th century, the Eastern Orthodox Church used the...

 Greek Orthodox Church
Greek Orthodox Church
The Greek Orthodox Church is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity sharing a common cultural tradition whose liturgy is also traditionally conducted in Koine Greek, the original language of the New Testament...

which (after receiving a hierarchy with the aid of bishops of the ROCOR
Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia
The Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia , also called the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, ROCA, or ROCOR) is a semi-autonomous part of the Russian Orthodox Church....

) was united under Archbishops Akakios of Diavleia (Greek Old Calendarists
Greek Old Calendarists
Greek Old Calendarists are groups that separated from the Orthodox Church of Greece or from the Patriarchate of Constantinople, precipitated by disagreement over the abandonment of the traditional Julian Calendar.- History :Up until the early 20th century, the Eastern Orthodox Church used the...

) and Auxentios.

The Synod's jurisdiction in Spain is legally recognized by the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

.

History

The West European Diocese was established in 1978 by Archbishop Auxentios (Athens) with the election of Archimandrite
Archimandrite
The title Archimandrite , primarily used in the Eastern Orthodox and the Eastern Catholic churches, originally referred to a superior abbot whom a bishop appointed to supervise...

 Gabriel to the Episcopate of Lisbon. This action was a source of friction between ROCOR and the GOC of Greece, as Archimandrite Gabriel had been taken in from the Diocese of Western Europe under Archbishop Anthony of Geneva without a canonical release. The diocese was granted a tomos
Tomos
Tomos is a famous Slovenian brand based in the city of Koper. Tomos has produced various goods for the Eastern European market, including motorcycles, cars, mopeds, Outboard motors and boats. Of which, mopeds are the most well known. Tomos acquired a license to produce existing moped models from...

 of autonomy
Autonomy
Autonomy is a concept found in moral, political and bioethical philosophy. Within these contexts, it is the capacity of a rational individual to make an informed, un-coerced decision...

 in 1984 from Archbishop Auxentios in order to pursue missionary work among the non-Orthodox people of the West. The title of the Synod at this time was the Metropolia of Western Europe. In 1984 another Bishop Tiago of Lisbon was established under the Synod of West while the Synod of Greece was going through schism.

After the departure of its first Chief Hierarch, Metropolitan Gabriel of Portugal, to the autocephalous
Autocephaly
Autocephaly , in hierarchical Christian churches and especially Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches, is the status of a hierarchical church whose head bishop does not report to any higher-ranking bishop...

 Church of Poland, Archimandrite
Archimandrite
The title Archimandrite , primarily used in the Eastern Orthodox and the Eastern Catholic churches, originally referred to a superior abbot whom a bishop appointed to supervise...

 Evloghios of Milan was chosen as second Chief Hierarch and the Primate of the Synod in 1990. His rank was elevated to the metropolitan
Metropolitan bishop
In Christian churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan, pertains to the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a metropolis; that is, the chief city of a historical Roman province, ecclesiastical province, or regional capital.Before the establishment of...

. An Orthodox Episcopate in the see of Saint Ambrose was reestablished for the first time since the schism of the West. In 1990 the Synod came into communion with Metropolitan Mstyslav
Patriarch Mstyslav (Stepan Skrypnyk)
Patriarch Mstyslav, secular name Stepan Ivanovych Skrypnyk , was a Ukrainian Orthodox Church hierarch.Born in Poltava , Stepan Skrypnyk was the nephew of Symon Petlura, a prominent Ukrainian military and political figure...

 of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Exile (Patriarch of Kyiv). In 1994 Patriarch Volodomyr (Romaniuk)
Patriarch Volodomyr (Romaniuk)
Patriarch Volodymyr was the Patriarch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Kiev Patriarchy....

 recognized the autonomy of the Synod. However after the split of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church initiated by the newly-elected Patriarch Filaret (Denysenko) (excommunicated in 1997) the Synod has not been in communion with any particular Patriarchate.

Important is the fact that American Archdioceses predate creation of the Synod. Both Archdioceses were closely tied to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church
Ukrainian Orthodox Church
Ukrainian Orthodox Church may refer to:*Ukrainian Orthodox Church , established in 1990*Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyivan Patriarchate, established in 1992*Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church, established in 1921...

. In 1997 Archdiocese of Texas (originally established by the Ukrainian Church) was accepted into Synod. Since then Archbishop Hilarion became the senior bishop for Americas while the Archdiocese of New York and New Jersey of Archbishop John was converted to diocese for the eastern part of the United States.

The American Archdioces was granted independence early 2011, and became an autonomous sister church with the Milan Synod.

On April 4th, 2011, the Milan Synod broke communion with its America, Greek, and Bulgarian Sister Synods; this was precipitated by the Milan Synod's desire to unite with the Moscow Patriarchate. That day, the American Synod (the Autonomous Orthodox Metropolia of North and South America and the British Isles) confirmed that a cessation of communion had occurred due to the European Synod's desire to unite with the Mosocw Patriarchate. The American Synod had previously published statements condmening the Moscow Patriarchate and all the Patriarchs that participated in ecumenism as heretical and abominations..

During 2011 the Orthodox Church in Italy
Orthodox Church in Italy
The Orthodox Church in Italy is an effort to establish a national Orthodox church in Italy, bringing all the Orthodox parishes and missions under an Italian Metropolitan, but only some independent groups have adhered to it...

, after Metropolitan Antonio
Antonio De Rosso
Antonio De Rosso was the founder of the Orthodox Church in Italy and the Metropolitan of Ravenna, L'Aquila and Italy....

's death, joined the Milan Synod.

Bishops

Today Metropolitan Evloghios remains at the helm of the Holy Synod of bishops of the Church of Milan, which comprises 5 diocese
Diocese
A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...

s in Europe, as well as missionary deaneries in France and South Africa.

Members of Synod

As of 2008,

Europe:

Metropolitan EVLOGHIOS of Milan, First Hierarch
  1. Archbishop ONUPHRIUS of Bergamo (Titular; the Archbishop is the Representative to Eastern Europe for the Synod)
  2. Bishop ABBONDIO of Como
  3. Bishop PABLO of Italica, bishop for Spain and Portugal
  4. Bishop ILDEFONSO
  5. Bishop BORIS of Germany


Starting in 1997 the Milan Synod included a number of Western Rite
Western Rite
Western Rite can refer to:*Latin liturgical rites, rites used by the Roman Catholic Church and other Western Christians deriving from Catholicism...

 communities, mainly in the United States. The principal rite of the Synod of Milan is the Byzantine Rite
Byzantine Rite
The Byzantine Rite, sometimes called the Rite of Constantinople or Constantinopolitan Rite is the liturgical rite used currently by all the Eastern Orthodox Churches, by the Greek Catholic Churches , and by the Protestant Ukrainian Lutheran Church...

of the Orthodox Church, celebrated most commonly in the Slavic style, but in some parishes in the Greek style. These communities are not longer with the Milan Synod, since the American Archdioceses were granted autonomy and recognized as an independent Sister Synod; on April 4th, 2011, communion between the Milan Synod and the American Sister Synod ( the Autonomous Orthodox Metropolia of North and South America and the British Isles ) ended, due to the Milan Synod's public announcement that it was seeking to join the Moscow Patriarchate. The Milan Synod announced that it would cease communion with all previous Sister Churches, including its new Sister Church ( the Autonomous Orthodox Metropolia of North and South America and the British Isles ), as well as its Bulgarian and Greek Sister Churches. The Autonomous Orthodox Metropolia of North and South America and the British Isles confirmed that such a cessation had taken; thus removing any present connection the Milan Synod has to the minority Western rite communities in the Autonomous Orthodox Metropolia of North and South America and the British Isles.

External links

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