Metropolitan John Zizioulas played a pivotal role in the Holy and Great Council convened at the Orthodox Academy of Crete, from June 17 to June 26, 2016, near the historic city of Chania.

The groundwork for this Synod was laid as early as the 1961 Rhodes pan-Orthodox conference, followed by a series of pan-Orthodox conferences and pre-conciliar meetings spanning decades. Extensive preparations encompass four Pan-Orthodox conferences in Rhodes, 1961, 1963, 1964, and in Geneva 1976, 1982, 1986, 2009, and 2015, two meetings of the heads of Orthodox churches, one in Constantinople in 2014, and the other in Geneva in 2016, and a circle of Inter-Orthodox preparatory commissions and related conferences. After numerous smaller and larger gatherings over the years, a definitive unanimous decision was reached by the heads of the autocephalous Orthodox Churches during the first week of Great Lent at the March 2014 Synaxis of Primates of Autocephalous Orthodox Churches convened by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew at the Phanar. This decision was subsequently reaffirmed by all local churches in January 2016.

Zizioulas served as President of the Pre-Orthodox Preparatory Committee for the Holy and Great Council, a role assigned by the Ecumenical Patriarch. The first Synaxis, held in Phanar on the Sunday of Orthodoxy in 1992, required immense preparation, including engaging with Church Primates and drafting the daily schedule. John Zizioulas chaired the committee responsible for drafting the Message of the Primates. A month before the Synod, this committee, comprising high ranking representatives from all Orthodox Churches, met in Ormylia, Halkidiki, and approved the Message drafted by Zizioulas, recognized for its historical significance both practically and theologically.

The preparation of many topics to reach the Holy and Great Synod, which would take the final decisions on them, was entrusted to bodies in which Metropolitan John took an active role, very often serving as their president. Each topic was studied by each local Church, which would send the relevant suggestions on this topic to the Secretariat for the Preparation of the Synod located in Chambésy. Subsequently, the Secretariat would process these suggestions and compile a report including the convergences and divergences of the Churches on the subject in question. The Secretariat would submit this report to the Inter-Orthodox Preparatory Committee, chaired by Metropolitan John. The Ecumenical Patriarch would eventually convene the Synaxis of Primates to formulate and approve a common text on the subject, acceptable to all the Orthodox Churches. If an agreement is not reached on the text, the Orthodox Preparatory Committee would meet again until an agreement is reached by all its members (one can imagine how arduous a task this was!). Upon reaching the unanimity of the Preparatory Committee or the Secretariat, the agreed text would be sent to the local Churches, which would reply with their observations within a specified time. After the agreed text, the Secretariat would submit these observations to the Synaxis.

In January 2016, an extraordinary meeting of scholars was convened at Phanar, Istanbul, focusing on the future of Orthodoxy and the upcoming Council. Zizioulas’ contribution was significant; he spent over three hours discussing the pre-conciliar process, contemporary challenges, the agenda’s outdated nature, and various political factors jeopardizing the Council. The meeting facilitated a frank and open dialogue, where participants debated various aspects of the upcoming Synod. Zizioulas encouraged the group of theologians to actively promote the Council and foster unity, with a call to write about it.

At the Crete Council, John Zizioulas was a key advisor to the Ecumenical Patriarch. His role involved contributing to the refined reformulation of various documents. Zizioulas’ deep theological insights, particularly on topics such as fasting, the human person, and ecclesiology, significantly elevated the theological discourse of the Council. His contributions not only enhanced the Council’s theological depth but also ensured its relevance and applicability to contemporary theological discussions.

Although Zizioulas’ eucharistic ecclesiology and theology of personhood have influenced contemporaries across various traditions, the Council’s proceedings were minimally impacted by his theological vision. This is exemplified in the debate between Metropolitan Hierotheos of Naypaktos (Vlachos) and Zizioulas over the Greek terms for human person. The approved document “Relations of the Orthodox Church with the Rest of the Christian World” sparked a debate between Metropolitan John and others, particularly regarding the use of the term “church” for non-Orthodox traditions. Zizioulas highlighted the patristic tradition of referring to non-Orthodox Christian groups as “churches,” a stance opposed by “Orthodox traditionalists”. The resulting document attempted to balance these views, acknowledging the historical name of non-Orthodox Christian Churches and Confessions, despite not being in communion with the Orthodox Church.

Despite his personal dissatisfaction with the level of discussion, John Zizioulas emphasized that the primary achievement of the Crete Council was its occurrence – the fact that it happened at all and that the present hierarchs were able to celebrate Liturgy together. Given the complex circumstances—including the current crises facing the Orthodox Church, influenced by factors such as ethnophyletism and autocephalism—Metropolitan John of Pergamon viewed the Council as a reflection of contemporary Orthodoxy. He believed that, in spite of its limitations, the Council served as a crucial mirror to the state and challenges of the Orthodox Church in the modern era.