“From Local to Universal Synodality”, Sibiu 13.-16.11.2025
The Faculty of Orthodox Theology “St. Metropolitan Andrei Șaguna of Trasylvania” within the “Lucian Blaga” University of Sibiu wishes to mark the 1700th anniversary of the Ecumenical Council of Nicaea and the 10 years since the Great and Holy Council of Crete (2016-2026). At the same time, it wishes to meet the growing interest for synodality of the Protestant milieus through an International Symposium dedicated to the Synodality in ecumenical perspective. The precise title is: From Local to Universal synodality. The Synodal Experience of the Last Two Centuries in Ecumenical Perspective: Nicaea, Crete, Leuenberg, Vatican II, Lambeth. The Symposium will be organized in November 2025 in cooperation with the East European Centre for Protestant Theology (germ. ZETO)
The practice of synodality, inherited from the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea, is enjoying increasing attention within the various Christian confessions. Both in its own consciousness and in the perceptions of other Christian denominations, it is the Orthodox Church which has always preserved the practice of synodality. However, from the second half of the 19th century and more obviously in the 20th century, a growing interest in the practice of synodality crystallized also within other Christian denominations.
The Orthodox Church reconfirmed its synodal character by preparing for the Holy and Great Council, which met in 2016 on the island of Crete. The Catholic Church convened the two Vatican Councils and recently inaugurated the “Synodal Way”. The Lambeth Conferences in the Anglican Communion or the constitution of the Assembly of Protestant Churches in Europe are attempts to rediscover the synodality also in the Protestant context. For two days (four sessions), participants will reflect on how the culture of synodality developed particularly over the last two centuries in the practice of different traditional Christian denominations.
A volume is intended to be published containing the contributions of the participants, but not only. This collection of studies will be a valuable research tool for those interested in the practice of synodality in the perspective of ecumenical diversity.