Bern, 18 June 2016. The Archbishop of Utrecht, Joris Vercammen, is to attend the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church on Crete. He was personally invited in his capacity as the president of the International Bishops’ Conference of the Union of Utrecht. Among the other important ecumenical guests observing the Council will be Cardinal Kurt Koch from the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.
The Pan-Orthodox Council is scheduled to begin on 19 June, despite a number of Orthodox Churches, including the Russian Orthodox Church, having pulled out.