The Theological Commission of the Patriarchate of Moscow met in late December to discuss the question of primacy in the universal Church. The news was relayed today by the agency "Europaica", an Orthodox news bulletin promoted by the membership of the Russian Church within the European institutions. The subject of primacy is of crucial importance for ecumenical dialogue and is also studied by the Joint Committee for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church as a whole, which, at the end of the latest meeting in Ravenna (October 2007), published a document on the subject. The document however was not signed by the delegation of the Patriarchate of Moscow, because they left the session before the end to protest against the presence of the Estonian Apostolic Church, which is not recognised by Moscow. Later on, the Patriarchate of Moscow stated they want to ask the Theological Commission of the Synod to review the details of the "Ravenna document", then their comments will be reviewed by the Holy Synod of the Russian Church for approval. (continued)” “
