An unfinished council

This article examines the canonical and ecclesiological status of the Pan-Orthodox Council of Crete, held in 2016, by raising the question of its legitimacy as a council truly representative of Orthodoxy as a whole. Drawing on theological and ecclesiological study, the text analyzes the conditions under which this council was held, notably the absence of several major autocephalous Orthodox Churches, and questions the criteria by which an episcopal assembly may or may not be qualified as pan-Orthodox. The central argument holds that, despite its limitations and unfinished character, the Crete event nonetheless constitutes a real council whose acts deserve to be recognized. On the theological level, the article proposes that this gathering could inaugurate a renewed conciliar dynamic, capable of fostering intra-Orthodox and ecumenical dialogue over the longer term.