The Great and Holy Council and the Orthodox Churches in the Public Sphere

Abstract

This paper explores how the Orthodox churches may be actively present in the public sphere of a plural society. It argues – based on the explicit desire of the Orthodox Church in the Great and Holy Council of Crete (2016) – that the presence of the Orthodox Church in the public sphere must be theologically informed and at the same time sensitive to the social realities of liberal democratic societies. The Orthodox churches must take into account the fact that in the public sphere, all communities in their differences are claiming the right to be recognized in their particularity, to be respected, and to have the right to be active participants in public deliberations on matters that regulate their shared life. The Orthodox churches direly need to acquire attitudes and conversational skills that allow them to respect, converse, and collaborate with those who do not share their worldview. Insights from the writings of the political philosophies of John Rawls, Jurgen Habermas, and Charles Taylor may provide helpful guidance on these matters. At the same time, the paper argues that the Orthodox churches must go beyond their expressed desires to be actively present in the public sphere of liberal democratic states and begin to identify those aspects of their tradition that impair their robust presence and performance in modern societies.