Albania, Cyprus, Greece, January 17, 2022
Photo: vimaorthodoxias.gr
A number of hierarchs from several Local Churches have responded to last month’s decision by the Russian Holy Synod to create an African Exarchate on the territory of the Patriarchate of Alexandria.
Several of the hierarchs echo the same message: Unilateral actions harm the Church, and therefore we need to convene a pan-Orthodox Council as soon as possible to deal with the Ukrainian crisis and its unfortunate consequences.
Abp. Anastasios of Albania
On January 8, His Beatitude Archbishop Anastasios of Albania, who has refused to recognize the Ukrainian schismatics, issued a statement reminding that he has continually called for the Ukrainian crisis to be dealt with in council, because “ecclesiastical rifts and schisms aren’t healed by time. On the contrary, it deepens and hardens them.”
And, “The recent decision of the Moscow Patriarchate to establish an Exarchate on the African continent confirms the initial fears,” he writes. In addition to the schism in Ukraine, a schism is now beginning in Africa, he laments, which “weakens the Orthodox testimony.”
And while Constantinople and its supporters often claim that there is no schism in Orthodoxy today, Abp. Anastasios says that this akin to claiming there is no coronavirus. The schism is obvious, he says, and must be treated.
The Archbishop also republished his statement from November 2019, in which he warned that “a worrying silence prevails in most of the Orthodox Churches” concerning the Ukrainian crisis.
Met. Isaiah of Tamassos (Cypriot Church)
On January 6, His Eminence Metropolitan Isaiah of Tamassos, one of the most staunch opponents of recognition of the Ukrainian schismatics in the Cypriot Church, issued a statement emphasizing that the creation of a Russian Exarchate in Africa is “an obvious side-effect of the Ukrainian issue, which continues to evolve with unpredictable consequences.”
The Ukrainian crisis has greatly damaged trust between the Local Churches, he writes, and thus any such unilateral actions that aren’t dealt with in council “will inevitably damage ecclesiastical relations and balances between the Local Orthodox Churches.”
Met. Isaiah worries that more and more Orthodox countries will eschew dialogue when any problem arises and simply make their own unilateral decisions.
“Faced with this danger, a Synaxis of our primates is urgently needed,” Met. Isaiah insists. Such a gathering would be convened and presided over by Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, he states.
If the situation continues as is, “we will wind up turning our Churches into inward-looking religious formations of our countries’ foreign relations.”
Met. Seraphim of Piraeus (Greek Church)
In an interview with Vima Orthodoxias (English translation), His Eminence Metropolitan Seraphim of Piraeus reiterates his well-known stance that granting autocephaly to anathematized schismatics without their repentance or canonical restoration “is unfortunately leading Orthodoxy onto dangerous paths.”
The creation of the Russian Exarchate is based on the erroneous view that the Patriarchate of Alexandria has become schismatic by commemorating “Metropolitan” Epiphany Dumenko of the schismatic Ukrainian church, Met. Seraphim continues.
No primate or any Local Synod has the authority to declare anyone schismatic, His Eminence writes, but it must be done by a pan-Orthodox Council.
“Therefore, the action of the Russian Church is based on a false premise, because you cannot examine someone and judge him to be schismatic without the ruling and canonical penalty that can be imposed by the competent conciliar body.”
The request for such a council “has become more necessary than ever.” Like Abp. Anastasios of Albania and Met. Isaiah, Met. Seraphim calls upon Pat. Bartholomew to “transcend himself” and immediately convene a council.
According to Met. Seraphim, Pat. Bartholomew certainly has the right, “under the canonical conditions,” to grant autocephaly, but he granted it to the wrong people in Ukraine.
The hierarch of the Greek Church points to the example of “Patriarch” Philaret Denisenko, who after being embraced by the Patriarchate of Constantinople, has only continued the schismatic activities for which he was defrocked and anathematized in the first place, having recently received into his jurisdiction two Greek Old Calendarist “hierarchs.”
Met. Pavlos of Drama (Patriarchate of Constantinople)
In an interview with the National Herald, Metropolitan Pavlos of Drama commented that by creating an African Exarchate, the Russian Synod shows that it hasn’t learned the lesson of 1917.
“This is the revolutionary pan-Slavism of pre-revolutionary Russia which is coming back vengefully again, since they are doing this in an arrogant and very provocative way, relying on state authorities. It seems they didn’t learn their lesson with the divine ‘slap’ during the revolution of 1917,” the Metroplitan commented.
Patriarchate of Constantinople
On January 11, the Holy Synod of the Patriarchate of Constantinople issued a brief statement stating its support for the Patriarchate of Alexandria against the creation of a Russian Exarchate on its territory.
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