Greek Metropolitan Nektarios of Corfu: We recognize only the canonical Ukrainian Church (+ VIDEO)

Corfu, Greece, September 3, 2019

  

His Eminence Metropolitan Agafangel of Odessa and Izmail and His Eminence Archbishop Diodore of Yuzhne of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church are currently on pilgrimage to Corfu, where they venerated the relics of the great St. Spyridon and also paid a visit to His Eminence Metropolitan Nektarios of Corfu, Paxoi, and the Diapontian Islands.

During their time together, the Greek hierarch assured his Ukrainian brothers that he and his diocese recognize only one canonical Ukrainian Church—that under His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kiev and All Ukraine, reports the press service of the Odessa Diocese.

“We are pleased to welcome you, Your Eminence, on your birthday, on an island where there are many saints are venerated, and especially the Holy Hierarch Spyridon. We pray that the Lord will help your Church overcome the difficulties connected with the Church schism and disorder,” Met. Nektarios said, showing the true love that always exists between the best representatives of the Greek and Slavic Orthodox traditions.

  

“We recognize only one canonical Church, headed by Metropolitan Onuphry of Kiev and All Ukraine, who often came here to the island of Corfu to serve as a simple priest,” the Greek hierarch added.

In response, Met. Agafangel thanked Met. Nektarios for the opportunity to pray at St. Spyridon’s relics and for the support of canonical Orthodoxy in Ukraine. Met. Agafangel had the blessing of serving a moleben to St. Spyridon at his relics, during which a prayer for peace in Ukraine was read.

Meeting with His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, the head of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations, in December, Met. Nektarios expressed his regret and concern about everything that has recently occurred in Ukraine.

He also said that, in his view, such a major decision as granting autocephaly to a newly-created church should be made only after studying the apostolic succession and canonicity of the new church and the groups that make it up, so that “these decisions do not contradict the truth and, first of all, do not divide or bring scandals and embarrassment to the people of God.”

Unfortunately, his wise counsel went unheeded.

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9/3/2019

See also
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It is unclear if the Synod is speaking of Constantinople’s rights in general or specifically in the Ukrainian situation, though, predictably, Constantinople-aligned Greek and Ukrainian sources were quick to proclaim that the Synod had actually recognized the OCU. Greek Metropolitan Seraphim of Kythira warns of dangers of Ukrainian situation for entire Church Greek Metropolitan Seraphim of Kythira warns of dangers of Ukrainian situation for entire Church Greek Metropolitan Seraphim of Kythira warns of dangers of Ukrainian situation for entire Church Greek Metropolitan Seraphim of Kythira warns of dangers of Ukrainian situation for entire Church
His Eminence Metropolitan Seraphim of Kythira and Antikythera of the Greek Orthodox Church has again raised his voice about the dangers facing the Orthodox Church because of Constantinople’s anti-canonical and blundering invasion of the canonical territory of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, this time in his Paschal letter sent to Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople and the primates of all the Local Orthodox Churches. Met. Seraphim of Piraeus: Constantinople has no right to hear appeals from and grant autocephaly to Ukraine Met. Seraphim of Piraeus: Constantinople has no right to hear appeals from and grant autocephaly to Ukraine Met. Seraphim of Piraeus: Constantinople has no right to hear appeals from and grant autocephaly to Ukraine Met. Seraphim of Piraeus: Constantinople has no right to hear appeals from and grant autocephaly to Ukraine
As the Greek metropolitan writes, autocephaly in Ukraine is sought by the “Westerner and Uniate” President Poroshenko, the Ukrainian Parliament and the nation’s two schismatic structures.

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