A commission of Russian Orthodox theologians has completed a draft
statement on primacy in the universal Church, which will now be
submitted to the Russian Orthodox synod for approval. A Biblical-theological commission, under the aegis of the Moscow patriarchate's Department External Church Relations, approved the draft statement November 8.
The question of primacy in the universal Church has been a contentious topic for Orthodox leaders, provoking tensions between the Moscow patriarchate and the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.
In 2010, a joint Catholic-Orthodox commission reached tentative agreement on a statement regarding the authority of the papacy in the Church.
But the Russian Orthodox Church, the world's largest Orthodox body, declined to endorse the statement, saying that it conceded too much authority to Rome and to Constantinople.