Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem recently wrote to the primates of the Orthodox Churches on the first anniversary of the mini council that took place in Amman, Jordan last year. That gathering was attended by no more than five Orthodox Churches but is bound to become historically significant as it was the first step (albeit a very small one) taken to resolve the schism emanating from the Ecumenical Patriarch’s unilateral and uncanonical recognition of make believe bishops and priests in Ukraine. Patriarch Theophilos has suggested he will attempt once more to convene a gathering of Churches when conditions emanating from covid improve.
Traditionally, the Ecumenical Patriarch as “first among equals” convenes pan Orthodox gatherings. A reality check for the apologists of Patriarch Bartholomew. Before Patriarch Bartholomew sent two “exarchs” to Ukraine in September 2018, several Orthodox Churches wrote to Patriarch Bartholomew not only asking him not to take unilateral measures in Ukraine, but to convene a council to deal with the Church schism in that country. Once the Church crisis was triggered by Patriarch Bartholomew, various primates including the Archbishop of Albania and the Patriarch of Antioch asked Patriarch Bartholomew to convene a council. Anyone who has read the letters of these distinguished Orthodox primates and the hostile responses from Patriarch Bartholomew would know that Constantinople has no intention of convening a council.
Patriarch Bartholomew has no intention of convening any kind of Church council that will not be rigged. It is more than apparent that the Ecumenical Patriarch knows full well that if a real council took place, it would rule against Constantinople. Patriarch Bartholomew has both created the crisis in Orthodoxy and permitted it to continue entirely unconcerned about the consequences. Consequences include the appalling persecution of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church through acts of violence by fascist militias and legal harassment by the government in Kiev.
Therefore, the Patriarchate of Jerusalem is fully justified in convening a council since Constantinople has abrogated its responsibilities and has no interest in healing the schism. For the Greek speaking Orthodox world, Jerusalem is the only remaining Church that remains unscathed by the nefarious collaboration between Patriarch Bartholomew and his “allies” at the State Department. Patriarch Bartholomew has done enormous harm to the Greek Churches who foolishly followed him down the path of destruction.
The Church of Greece has been morally and spiritually compromised as a result of the Holy Synod’s capitulation to American and Ukrainian demands to recognize the false entity in Ukraine masquerading as a Church. The Patriarchate of Alexandria has likewise suffered as a result of the unilateral decision of Patriarch Theodore to recognize the false synod in Ukraine. The Archbishop of Cyprus without consulting the holy synod of his Church recognized the fake Church in Ukrainian triggering outrage from his bishops and leaving the Cypriot Church in a state of crisis.
The Patriarchate of Jerusalem strictly speaking is not an exclusively Greek Church. The majority of the faithful are Palestinian Arabs who have real grievances about their mistreatment. That is an issue that must be addressed. Still, Patriarch Theophilos is Greek as are members of the synod of Jerusalem and in this regard demoralized Greeks can take comfort that at least one part of the Greek speaking Orthodox world remains unscathed by the destruction unleashed by Patriarch Bartholomew.
Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem has been justifiably praised by the Russian Church for his efforts to overcome the Church schism. Orthodox Christians everywhere should hope and pray that Patriarch Theophilos and his synod will remain firm and refuse to recognize the abomination that calls itself “Orthodox Church of Ukraine”. May a synod representing the whole of Orthodoxy be convened and may the schism in Orthodoxy be healed.