Following the sorrowful news of Patriarch Theodoros of Alexandria’s decision to recognize the schismatic “Orthodox Church of Ukraine,” His Eminence Metropolitan Agafangel of Odessa of the canonical Ukrainian Church penned a moving and heartfelt letter to the Patriarch, with whom he has long been personally acquainted.
As he notes in his letter, Patriarch Theodoros lived and served in Odessa or ten years, at the time that the Ukrainian schisms were first beginning, and has returned to visit twice since becoming Patriarch of Alexandria. In fact, he visited Odessa just last year for the explicit purpose of strengthening and comforting the faithful of the canonical Ukrainian Church, encouraging them to remain loyal to Christ in the canonical Church under His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kiev and All Ukraine.
Thus, the pain of the Patriarch’s recent decision is more personal for Orthodox Odessans.
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No. 446, November 19, 2019
His Beatitude,
The Most Blessed Patriarch of Alexandria
and All Africa Theodoros II
Your Beatitude,
Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa Theodoros!
A year has passed since Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew granted a “tomos” of autocephaly to the so-called “OCU.” However, the declared good intentions of the Ecumenical Throne—to save the disastrous state of Ukrainian Orthodoxy, to heal the wounds of schism, to restore to communion with the Orthodox Church those children who are beyond its boundaries—were not crowned with success, but, on the contrary, deepened the crisis and are quickly leading towards a schism of the entire Orthodox world.
The “OCU” is a group of schismatics and self-consecrated people, having no sacred orders, and in general, nothing in common with Orthodoxy, which you well know. Their blasphemous, abusive, and slanderous declarations aimed at the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church and the Ukrainian people bear witness to this. The representatives of this denomination have turned out to be a weapon in the hands of the enemies of the Church and Christ, who hate all that is holy and quite often—God Himself. They fell for the devil’s trick, forgetting that the Church is governed by Christ, and not the Ecumenical Patriarch.
Today it is absolutely clear that Orthodoxy is being destroyed with the help of the rulers of this world, that there is no longer unity amongst the Local Orthodox Churches, and that chaos reigns; and what’s worse, that all this is being openly done by Patriarch Bartholomew, who has fallen into the heresy of ethnophyletism, of eastern papism, and the ecclesiological heresy of ecumenism. Having committed a blasphemous act—the recognition of the self-consecrated schismatics with the stroke of a pen, he insists that all the Local Churches recognize the pseudo-structure created by him.
With great sadness and anxiety we received the news that you, Your Beatitude, commemorated “metropolitan Epiphany” as the “primate” of the Ukrainian Church during the Divine Liturgy in the Church of the Archangel Michael in Cairo on November 8 and announced your recognition of this pseudo-structure; and that, despite the fact that during your visit to Odessa in September 2018 you, as before, recognized only one canonical orthodox Church, headed by His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry. How your words are at odds with your deeds!
And how striking that the Patriarch of Alexandria, having the title of Judge of the Universe, for fear of the Jews surrendered the position of canonical Orthodoxy. Instead of speaking in defense of Church unity, instead of calling all primates, as the Judge of the Universe, to seek a canonically and dogmatically correct resolution to the Ukrainian problem, you embarked on the path of destroying the Church. After all, you, like all Greeks, well know that Patriarch Bartholomew trampled upon the sacred canons and dogmas of the Holy Orthodox Church. Today, justifying his actions, he refers not to the canons and dogmas of the Orthodox Church, but to the opinions of secular people, who are far from solving such questions—lawyers and publicists.
Where is the strong and authoritative voice of the Patriarch of Alexandria during troubles and sorrows for all of Orthodoxy? Why has the successor to the ancient Church of the apostle Mark, fearing the mighty of this world, betrayed the many millions of Ukrainian Orthodox people? Are you really so afraid of angering Patriarch Bartholomew but not afraid to so daringly go against Christ and His Holy Church?
Patriarch Theodoros (left) and Metropolitan Agafangel (right). Photo: eparhiya.od.ua
The years of your ministry in Odessa brought you honor and respect among the clergy and faithful, and you were personally assured of this when you twice visited Odessa as Patriarch. We all prayed together with you and communed of the Body and Blood of Christ our Savior from one chalice. You had the opportunity to look the people straight in the eye and preach Christ. And today you have so easily betrayed those who respected you, who sincerely loved you, and who heard your wonderful homilies with purity of heart. The Odessans who know you are very surprised, upset, and scandalized by your actions.
You have offended St. Seraphim of Sarov, by whose prayers you became Patriarch, which you, Your Beatitude, have spoken about many times. Hieromartyr Gregory V, Patriarch of Constantinople weeps, at whose shrine with a particle of his relics you and the Orthodox Odessans prayed during your ten years as the Exarch of the Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa to the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia. Odessa, the minor homeland of Greeks, and Odessans, who believed you and hoped that you would never betray the Church of Christ and not dare to rend the Savior’s robe, mourn.
Your Beatitude, think what you are doing! Orthodoxy is in danger. A schism of the Orthodox Church is, quite unfortunately, becoming a clearly unavoidable and historical fact. After all, you well know that this scam with the artificial Ukrainian “autocephaly” is aimed at the destruction of Orthodoxy, at the destabilization of inter-Orthodox relations. You stated that you made this decision after much thought. But that is not true! Everyone well understands that this decision was rash, made under external influence and pressure. Please, tell the entire world which canon gives the right to declared self-ordained schismatics, having no sacred orders, to be clergymen and to grant them a tomos and autocephaly?
The “tomos” did not bring peace to Ukraine, but, on the contrary, enmity, malice, and hatred aimed at the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church from the representatives of the so-called “OCU,” which the false patriarch Philaret himself has renounced, who previously was zealously in favoring of granting the “tomos.” Churches are being seized and priests and the faithful of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church are being beaten. The seized churches stand empty, and the faithful Ukrainian people of God, whose opinion the Ecumenical Patriarch ignored, will never pray with the self-consecrated schismatics. The canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church will never recognize the so-called “OCU,” because it is contrary to the sacred canons of the Holy Church. The only possible way for them to enter the Church is to first begin to believe in God, in the Gospel, and to bring forth the good fruits of sincere repentance.
Unfortunately, history vividly testifies to us of the names of the Patriarchs of Constantinople and Alexandria who fell into heresy and trampled upon the sacred canons. They forever remain apostates from the true faith and traitors to Sacred Tradition. They were all victims of the negative influence exerted upon the Church by the state, interfering in its teachings and inner life. And today we see open interference in the internal affairs of the Church and pressure on hierarchs to be obedient and loyal in the matter of adapting the Church to the needs of the politics of globalization.
Your Beatitude! Do not become one of them condemned by history, the Church, and God! After all, even here on Earth you will have to give an answer before the face of all of world Orthodoxy. It’s only a matter of time, not to mention that every one of us will have to appear before the Judgment of God, bearing in mind that the sin of schism is not washed away even by martyr’s blood.
Your Beatitude!
If God be for us, who can be against us? (Rom. 8:31).
We are praying for you to our Heavenly God the Father and greatly hope that you will reconsider and reexamine your decision, and come to knowledge of the truth and defend the unity of canonical Orthodoxy.
+ Agafangel
METROPOLIAN OF ODESSA AND IZMAIL,
PERMANENT MEMBER OF THE HOLY SYNOD
OF THE UKRAINIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH
