Russian Orthodox Church that it could split from the Ecumenical Patriarchate

[Chellow]

ekathimerini.com

The head of the Church of Greece, Archbishop Ieronymos, will attend a service in Kiev on Sunday despite threats by the Russian Orthodox Church that it could split from the Ecumenical Patriarchate over possible recognition of the Ukrainian Church.

The service in Kiev, held to mark 1,020 years since the Christianization of the Russians, has taken on an air of controversy after Russian Patriarch Alexy II launched a verbal attack against the spiritual leader of Orthodox Christians, Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomaios.

Vartholomaios responded yesterday by sending a letter to Alexy calling his remarks “insulting.”

Alexy had called for Orthodox leaders to boycott the service in Kiev but, in a vote held by Greece’s Holy Synod yesterday, it was decided by 11 votes in favor to one against that Ieronymos should go. He will be accompanied by the bishops of Chios and Preveza.

 

[Peter_J]

Hi Chellow,

The publication you referenced, kathimerini, is one that I’ve never heard of. Do you have good reason to believe they are reliable?

 

[Peter_J]

Hi Chellow,

The publication you referenced, kathimerini, is one that I’ve never heard of. Do you have good reason to believe they are reliable?

I’ve been able to confirm the part of the Kathimerini story that says that the MP “had called for Orthodox leaders to boycott the service in Kiev”:

**Russian Orthodox Head Advises Georgian not to Come to Ukraine for Celebration **

23.07.2008, [14:47] // Orthodox //

Moscow— A letter of Russian Orthodox Patriarch Alexis II to Catholicos Illia II, head of the Orthodox Church of Georgia, in which the patriarch recommends the catholicos not travel to Kyiv for the celebration of the 1020th anniversary of the Baptism of Kyivan Rus, has been publicized. intermedia.org.ua posted the news on 23 July 2008.

In the letter, Patriarch Alexis II writes that “in a brotherly way he shares his disturbance in connection with the plans of the Ukrainian authorities regarding the coming celebrations.”

“During discussions with delegated persons of the Ukrainian government responsible for preparing the celebratory events, we learned of the firm intention of the president of Ukraine to invite to the celebrations not only Orthodox hierarchs but also leaders of all existing religious denominations of Ukraine,” reads the letter.

Patriarch Alexis is especially disturbed that the heads of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kyivan Patriarchate and Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church, hierarchs of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, and others have been invited to the celebrations.

“The circumstances that have arisen in connection with the possibility of difficult temptation for the faithful and the threat of new divisions makes it impossible for us to participate in the celebration of the state program, because of the participation of schismatics,” Patriarch Alexis warns. He also notes: “With deep regret we are forced to ask Your Holiness to refrain from personal participation in the celebration, so that in the circumstances that have arisen and which do not depend on you, the fact of your presence would not be interpreted as a manifestation of support of anti-canonical acts.”

risu.org.ua/eng/news/article;23598/

 

[Chellow]

I don’t know if the quote is reliable, but the MP and the EP have been at war over the Ukrainian Orthodox Church for the past two weeks. Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk has stated in Interfax that the developments in the Ukraine will result in a world Orthodoxy schism. (see Link)
interfax-religion.com/?act=news&div=4974

 

[bpbasilphx]

The Russian Orthodox Church has not been part of the Ecumenical Patriarchate since the 15th century.

And yes, there have been breaks in communion between churches because of jurisdictional squabbles before.

Examples:

The Bulgarian Church and before that the Church of Greece declared their independence of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. The EP replied with a bull of excommunication, which NOBODY but the EP paid attention to.

They years (sometimes decades) later the EP would recognize a fait accompli and issue a “grant” of autocephaly.

Don’t lose any sleep over it.

 

[Chellow]

Does that mean the Russian Orthodox Church and the Ecumenical Patriarchate do not recognize each other?

 

[Peter_J]

Does that mean the Russian Orthodox Church and the Ecumenical Patriarchate do not recognize each other?

Not at all. bpbasilphx simply said that “the Russian Orthodox Church has not been part of the Ecumenical Patriarchate since the 15th century.”

One of the reasons I’m suspicious of the kathimerini article is that they said that the Russian Orthodox Church “could split from the Ecumenical Patriarchate” when clearly they ought to have said something like “could break communion with the Ecumenical Patriarchate”.

 

[zografou]

Kathimerini is a newspaper written and translated in Greece by Greeks and as such quite often phrases things oddly.

The threat of Moscow Patriarchate to split would be that they would no longer hold themselves to be in Communion, not that they would no longer be under the jurisdiction of Constantinople from which they have declared themselves to be since the 14th century.

Orthodoxy is one Faith, one Church, one Communion regardless of jurisdiction. This is what they will separate themselves from if that is what they will do.

Kyrie Eleison!

 

[zografou]

asianews.it/index.php?l=en&art=12811&size=A

Above is an interesting and well-written article.