The Holy Synod of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church№ 7936. un !"#6Bel$rade
To His HolinessArchbishop of Constantinople, New Rome, and Ecumenical PatriarchSir Sir BartholomewConstantinople
Subect% Holy and &reat SynodChrist is risen'(ost Holy )rchbishop of Constantinople* +e, -oe* and /cuenical0atriarch* belo1ed brother in Christ and co2celebrant of Our hubleness* Sir Bartholoe,* ost ,holeheartedly ,e $reet our respected Holiness ,ith brotherly ebrace in the 4ord.5e dee it unnecessary to stress the easure of hope* sincere coitentand contribution* accordin$ to our capacity* ,ith ,hich our Church participated in the preparation of the Holy and &reat Synod of the OrthodoxCatholic Church.Ho,e1er* ha1in$ taen into consideration%#. the dissatisfaction and critical rears of certain local Churches in re$ardto particular texts* prepared in the pre2Synodal period!. the irre1ocable decision of the 0atriarchates of )ntiochia and Bul$aria torefrain fro participatin$ in the Synod3. the probles in relations and counion bet,een Churches 8erusale : ;ntioch because of Catar deterioratin$ relations bet,een us and the0atriarchate of -oania* ,hich are no, hard to o1ercoe* due to the anti2canonical incursion of the latter into /astern Serbia and the foundin$ of a parallel diocese there* ,hich ,ill lead to se1erin$ of litur$ical and canonicalcounion of the t,o nei$hbourin$ Churches if the beha1ior describedabo1e is not terinated* and so on<* conointly ,ith the perspecti1e of allo,in$ these probles to not be sol1ed at the Synod but* rather* to bedeferred to the post2Synodal period* as if any coission can be an or$anhi$her than the pan2Orthodox Synod* and=. the lac of ,ill fro our (other Church of Constantinople to ha1e atleast one of the proposals of our Church 8such as the discussion onautocephaly* ri$ht of bishops to 1ote at the Synod* on re$ardin$ the synodsfro the ninth and fourteenth centuries as ecuenical already* in theconsciousness and practice of the Orthodox Church* and soe other ones* perhaps less si$nificant< included into the theatic and a$enda of theSynod* and* as lon$ as ,e reain obli$ated by the standpoints of the Holy)ssebly of Bishops of our Church* officially forulated t,o years a$o* as,ell as recently* at the end of the past onth of (ay*
,e are copelled* ,ith sadness : but also ,ith full feelin$ of our pastoraland* $enerally* ecclesial responsibility : to infor our dear and respectedHoliness and our Holy and Sacred Synod that* since all this is so* our Church feels it difficult to participate in the suoned Holy and &reatSynod* and proposes that it be postponed for a certain tie% ,hile our pendin$ $atherin$ at Crete* ,ith the help of &od* ,ould be re$arded as a pre2Synodal inter2Orthodox consultation ,ith the ai of additionally preparin$ the Synod and ipro1in$ its texts* or* at the ost* as the inau$ural phase of the ,hole synodal process* ,hich is to be copleted in subse>uentcontinuation* in the next phase* ,hen all disa$reeents are reo1ed in fa1or of unity of ind and consensus of Churches. ?n this ,ay* ,ith the aid of &od* the fruit of the Synod ,ill be seen as ,itness $i1en to our uncorruptedfaith* ans,er to hope ,hich abides in us as the essa$e of sal1ation inChrist* directed to all* both to those ,ho are close to us and to those ,ho arereote* and in no case* &od forbid* as $erination of ne, pestilentschisas and para2syna$o$ues under the excuse of falsely proclaied@ealousness and alle$ed preser1ation of Orthodoxy.?n re$ard to the said ,e reain our HolinessA huble brother and co2celebrant in the risen Christ
Аrchbishop of Pe, !etropolitan of Bel"rade#$arlo%ci andSerbian Patri&arch'rine&President of the Hol( S(nod of Bishops