As if Greece and Cyprus did not have enough problems with Turkey threatening both of these Hellenic states, the Synod of the Church of Greece has been threatening bishops who have refused to recognize the schismatic entity in Ukraine that calls itself “Orthodox Church of Ukraine”. The Synod of the Church of Greece accuses these bishops of breaking the unity between the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Greek Church.
This is utterly absurd. The two previous Archbishops of Athens Serapheim (1974-1998) and Christodoulos (1998-2008) both stood up to the bullying of Patriarch Bartholomew. Were these highly esteemed primates guilty of breaking the unity between the Church of Greece and the Ecumenical Patriarchate? The bishops in Greece that are being bullied by the cowardly synod of Archbishop Ieronymos have listed the violations of Canon Law and Orthodox ecclesiology by Patriarch Bartholomew through his actions in invading the canonical territory of the Russian Church in Ukraine.
This is absolute madness. At a time when the territorial integrity of both Greece and Cyprus are being challenged by Turkey, the Church of Greece is being attacked by Patriarch Bartholomew who happens to be a citizen of the Turkish aggressor state. Greeks need to put aside their sentimentality regarding the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
In his newly published, “The ecclesial Crisis in Ukraine”, Metropolitan Nikiforos of the Church of Cyprus dissects the canonical violations by the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Ukraine. While correctly providing evidence and citing canon law to demonstrate why Constantinople is wrong in Ukraine, his eminence bends over backwards to emphasize his love for the Church of Constantinople.
I also have a profound love for the Church and City of Constantinople, but sentimentality should not blind those of us who are Greek of the terrible wrongs that have been and continue to be perpetrated by Patriarch Bartholomew. The cowardly Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens and other bishops chose to recognize the schismatic abomination in Ukraine as a “church” at the expense of the real Ukrainian Orthodox Church after Patriarch Bartholomew and American officials such as Mike Pompeo and Geoffrey Pyatt demanded they do so.
The moral standing of the Orthodox Church of Greece has fallen to its lowest standing since the era of the military dictatorship when canonical bishops were forcibly removed and replaced by unscrupulous supporters of the junta in violation of canon law. Archbishop Christodoulos recognized that young people in Greece had been alienated from the Church by those particular “bishops” that had been close to the junta.
Archbishop Christodoulos formally apologized at his enthronement in 1998 for the Church’s alienation of young people. The late Archbishop was very humble, charismatic, and pious. At the present time the European Union is bullying Hungary and Poland into fully accepting the gay and transgender ideology. Where are the voices of Archbishop Ieronymos and the synod of the Church of Greece opposing gay marriage and transgenderism?
In 2017, when the atheist Prime Minister Tsipras formally legalized gay marriage and transgender ideology, most of the bishops of the Church of Greece were silent. In the year 2000, the visionary Archbishop Christodoulos challenged the European Union and the anti Christian and anti Hellenic policies of Prime Minister Simitis. The late Archbishop called hundred of thousands of faithful Greeks out to protest in Athens and Thessaloniki against the effort to remove religion from identity cards.
The European Union went from demanding the removal of religion from identity cards to demanding the teaching of homosexuality and transgender ideology in the schools of member states of the European Union. Where are you Archbishop Christodoulos? See how your successor and his bishops remain silent as the Greek government embraces the anti Christian morality and neo pagan ideology of the Europeans? See how Archbishop Ieronymos and other bishops take orders from the American embassy in order to destroy the spiritual brotherhood between the Greeks and the Russians?
Those bishops and priests in Greece who refuse to bow to the bullying dictates of Patriarch Bartholomew are confessors to the faith and worthy examples to faithful Greeks throughout the world. May they persist and stand strong in defense of the faith of Christ and the Greek Orthodox tradition in these evil times.
2 replies on “Where Are You Archbishop Christodoulos?”
Bartholomew is to be respected at the ‘First among Equals’, but he is not a Pope. He cannot issue defacto Orthodox Church policy and expect everyone else to fall into line behind him, that’s not how our Church works. The individual Bishops and Metropolitans have independent authority when it comes to matters like this. I don’t know why the Greek Archbishop is falling behind this policy, it’s really nebulous and stinks of realpolitik in a major way. Why is the Church getting involved in foreign policy matters like this? We should stay out of it and maintain our historical realationships which have largely stood the test of time. Secular Politics and foreign policy corrupts everything it touches and that includes our Church
The bishops of Greece appear to be rallying behind Bartholomew based on Greek sentimentality over Constantinople. I happen to share that sentimentality but lines have to be drawn somewhere. I have written a good deal about the Patriarchate over time and its problems in Turkey, but this does not mean the Patriarch should be permitted to do as he wished. There are times when family members correct other family members when they are in the wrong. The Church of Greece had an obligation to tell the Patriarch he is wrong. It is disappointing to see what is happening.