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Bishop Christopher Hil, President of the Conference of European
Churches and CEC observer at the Council. © Sean Hawkey

of Ebbsfleet was technically the Anglican Observer. The most senior, by the
way, was Cardinal Koch of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian
Unity. Our role was primarily just to be there. We were present for the
inaugural session and the important concluding session. But the business
sessions were closed. Yet when we were present the Ecumenical Patriarch
repeatedly referred to us and highly positively. Bishop Kallistos of Diokleia has
said that at the next Council, in ‘three to seven years’ he hopes, the ecumenical
representatives would be at the working sessions. I think this was the original
hope of the Ecumenical Patriarch but conservative fears from some Orthodox
churches meant a compromise decision. But bishops spoke of our presence
during the closed sessions, especially in the debate about ‘other Churches’
rather than ‘communities’, one of the most important sessions. Behind the
scenes the Ecumenical delegation met regularly with consultants and some
members of the Council, facilitated by the Ecumenical Patriarchate. I think we
sometimes knew more than the orthodox bishops who were spread out in
different delegations at different hotels! We were given an exhaustive tour of
Cretan monasteries to fill up the time. The ecumenical delegation was

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