Svarbrev til Patriark Bartolomeus fra Erkebispedømmerådet.
To His All Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew I Archbishop of Constantinople the New Rome
Your All Holiness,
The
members of the Council of the Archdiocese wish to thank you for the
letter addressed to us recently. Indeed, we were humbled by the warm
reception extended to our Exarchate when we visited the Ecumenical
Throne recently.
We are deeply grateful to your All Holiness for
your continued paternal care and attention to the affairs of our
Exarchate, and also for the canonical protection extended by the
Ecumenical Throne to all of us and to our parishes and communities in
Western Europe.
The proposals in your letter were discussed
thoroughly and at length in the meetings of the Council and the letter
was presented to the Diocesan Assembly of our Archdiocese held in our
Cathedral in Paris last Saturday, 30th March 2013. Under the
chairmanship of the locum tenens, His Eminence Metropolitan Emmanuel, an
open and frank expression of opinions took place which facilitated a
constructive exchange of views. 188 clergy, monastic and lay delegates
from our parishes and communities were in attendance.
The general
consensus that emerged from that assembly was there is a need for
pastoral care and leadership for the effective service of our parishes
and communities. Therefore, the value of your All Holiness’ proposal
that the locum tenens may continue to exercise such pastoral care in the
Exarchate, as Patriarchal Exarch, was recognized and accepted until the
next Assembly which is proposed for the 1st November 2013 at the latest
(during which period the process for the election of our new Archbishop
may take place according to the statutes of our Archdiocese and the
Tomos of 1999).
We were encouraged by His Eminence Metropolitan
Emanuel’s assurance the Ecumenical Patriarchate intends to safeguard and
maintain the integrity of the Exarchate. His personal wish to oversee
the smooth and proper process of election for the new Archbishop during
this period was received with gratitude and confidence. As always, we
remain open to be guided by your All Holiness’ wise counsel and advice.
A
lack of consensus at this time regarding the matter of an assistant
bishop in the Exarchate does not allow us to propose candidates.
Likewise, proposals for the amendment of the statutes will need to be
discussed more thoroughly and move through the established channels in
order to receive the blessing of the Holy Synod.
The members of
the Council express appreciation to your All Holiness, His Eminence
Metropolitan Emmanuel, and the Holy Synod for the love, guidance and
protection we have received during this process. The Assembly expressed
the desire to continue to nurture our relationship through dialogue and
to connect even more deeply with the Ecumenical Patriarchate. Perhaps, a
delegation of members of our Council could travel to the Ecumenical
Patriarchate, at your convenience, to achieve these goals and to receive your All Holiness’ blessing.
Asking for Your prayers and Patriarchal blessings
TRP Jean Gueit Protopresbytre du Trône œcuménique Vice President of the Council
Prof. Michel Sollogoub Secretary of the Council
