Among global Orthodox leaders, Ukraine is a bone of contention

[CopyBoy]

THE ANGLICAN Communion is not the only worldwide Christian fraternity to have organised a tense, top-level meeting this month. Only a couple of weeks after the Communion preserved its shaky unity by ostracising its liberal American brethren, the leaders of the Orthodox Christian church convened in all their robed solemnity, and at rather short notice, in Geneva.

At stake is whether or not an even grander Orthodox meeting (the most important for centuries, in some people’s view) can proceed as planned this summer. The key players in this drama are Bartholomew I, the Istanbul-based Ecumenical Patriarch who is considered “first among equals” in the Orthodox hierarchy and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow. Since Ottoman and Tsarist times, these two centres of power have often competed for influence over the eastern Christian world.

The very fact that Moscow agreed in principle to this summer’s “Great and Holy Synod” marks something of a diplomatic success for Patriarch Bartholomew, as does Patriarch Kirill’s presence at the current session in Geneva. (He could have sent an underling.) But many things are up in the air, including the location of the summer gathering: originally scheduled to take place in Istanbul, it might be relocated (perhaps to Geneva again) because of the dire state of Russo-Turkish relations.

economist.com/blogs/erasmus/2016/01/orthodoxy-and-ukraine