Episcopal assemblies: pro et contra

Abstract

One of the urgent problems in the field of canon law, which invariably requires a timely solution, is the issue in the care of the diasporas, that is, Orthodox communities in canonical territories outside the Local Orthodox Churches. This article briefly describes an intermediate version of the attempt to establish a canonical status of the diasporas, when world Orthodoxy no longer turns a blind eye to the existence of parallel jurisdictions in a number of countries, but openly recognizes their existence and tries to heal the damage caused to the Church of Christ by a combination of various reasons through the creation of temporary advisory bodies — episcopal assemblies created by the decisions of the primates of the Orthodox Autocephalous Churches for joint efforts among the Orthodox hierarchs of various jurisdictions in the territory of the Diaspora. The article briefly describes the activities of episcopal assemblies in various regions of the world, as well as an attempt to analyse the work of the assemblies, describes the features of the most active episcopal assemblies, presents the results of their public activities over a fifteen-year period of their existence, highlights the strengths and weaknesses of these solutions to the problem of caring for diaspora communities.