The Orthodox Bishops’ Conference of Benelux (CEOB), chaired by Metropolitan Athenagoras of Belgium met at the headquarters of the Metropolis of Belgium in Brussels. Bishop Markos (Patriarchate of Romania) and Bishop Dositheus (Patriarchate of Georgia) also participated in the CEOB.
The Assembly mainly studied the obligations arising from the signing of the “Charter of Representative Bodies of Recognized Religions”.
The Charter is basically about the sound management of the assets of religious associations. The Charter was signed on March 26.
In particular, they discussed the relations of the Dutch State with the religions in relation to the Orthodox Missionary Authority, were informed about the Amsterdam Centre for Orthodox Theology in the Netherlands, and the Protocol for the formation of a “Confidentiality Committee”.
This committee was proposed by OKiN (the “Orthodox Church in the Netherlands” Foundation) and was approved by the Orthodox Bishops’ Conference of Benelux.
It aims to receive questions and complaints about possible abuses within the Church, in particular cases of sexual abuse of minors. It was decided to establish a similar authority in Belgium and Luxembourg.
The visit of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew to the three Benelux countries in November was also discussed on the 50th anniversary of the foundation of the Metropolis of Belgium and the Exarchate of the Netherlands and Luxembourg.
