His Eminence Metropolitan Anthimos of Alexandroupolis has criticized the Russian Orthodox Church and accused it of trying to erase the Ecumenical Patriarchate. This assessment is completely and entirely false. The Russian Church has done nothing to harm the Ecumenical Patriarchate other than to defend itself, its clergy, and its faithful from persecution.
It is abundantly clear that many of the hierarchs of the Church of Greece are ignorant of what has been happening in Ukraine. Furthermore, there is no excuse for being ignorant considering that fact that several hierarchs of the Church of Greece including Metropolitans Serapheim of Pireaus, Serapheim of Kythyra, Nektarios of Corfu, and Simeon on New Smyrna have informed the Synod as to what has been happening in Ukraine. In addition, prominent priests and theologians such as Father Theodore Zisis, Father Anastasios Gotsopoulos, and Professor Demetrios Tselengides have all spoken against recognition of the Ukrainians schismatics in great detail citing the Church canons.
Over one year ago, a petition in Greece signed by priests, theologians, monastics, and lay people was sent to the Holy Synod asking them NOT to recognize the schismatics. There is simply no reason for the hierarchs of the Church of Greece to be issuing statements based on ignorance. The true facts regarding the situation in Ukraine are well known and it is only because of laziness that Greek hierarchs refuse to be enlightened about Ukraine.
It is an established fact that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church under the synod of Metropolitan Onuphry is the canonical Church of Ukraine. The Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Patriarchate of Alexandria, and the Church of Greece maintained communion with this canonical synod until 2018-2019. An “autocephalous” Church cannot be established on the territory where a canonical Church already exists.
The canonical Church consists of two thirds of all Ukrainians. This fact has either been disregarded by Greek hierarchs or these hierarchs are too lazy to get information. The legitimate Church has been fiercely persecuted and Greek hierarchs refuse to open their eyes. We Greeks can’t really complain anymore about the plight of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Turkey since we are in effect supporting the persecution of Orthodox in Ukraine.
His Eminence Metropolitan Anthimos seems to forget the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s previous attacks on the Church of Greece. It has been reported previously by the Greek language “Orthodox Typos” in Athens that the late Archbishop Serapheim (1974-1998) refused to invite Patriarch Bartholomew to Athens because of the Patriarch’s encroachments on the canonical territory of the Church of Greece. Furthermore, the late Archbishop Christodoulos (1998-2008) very publicly feuded with Patriarch Bartholomew because of Constantinople’s aggressive actions in Northern Greece.
If the Church of Greece today had the kind of strong leadership that Archbishops Serapheim and Christodoulos provided it is unlikely that the Athens Synod would have recognized the Ukrainian schismatics. The two previous Archbishops were both independent minded and provided guidance to the Holy Synod. The present Archbishop Ieronymos on the other hand has not only not provided leadership he has bowed before the secular interests of the State Department and the American Embassy in Athens.
The Russians have never tried to undermine the Ecumenical Patriarchate. Moscow has always affirmed both by its statements and attendance at Pan Orthodox gatherings that the Ecumenical Patriarch is “first among equals”. Moscow has never tried to remove Constantinople from holding first place in the dyptychs or abolishing its “primacy of honour”.
Moscow has only challenged Constantinople when the latter Church has attempted to exceed its authority by attempting to grab Moscow’s territory as it did during the mid 1990’s when it established its own Bishops in Estonia. His Eminence Metropolitan Anthimos should recall that the late Archbishop Christodoulos of Athens openly supported Moscow during the Estonian crisis. In addition, the Church of Greece has resisted Constantinople’s encroachments just as Moscow has.
Yet, it would not be accurate to say that the Church of Greece was trying to “erase” the Ecumenical Patriarchate. The state into which the Greek Orthodox world has fallen is truly lamentable. Our Churches are now under the influence of the State Department.
How ironic this is. His Eminence Metropolitan Anthimos accuses the Russians of trying to “erase” the Ecumenical Patriarchate. His Eminence should reread the history of the Church of Constantinople during the 1950’s and the 1960’s. When the Turkish government waged its campaign of ethnic cleansing against Orthodox Greeks through pogroms and mass expulsions the State Department uttered not a single word of protest on behalf of the Patriarchate’s flock.
Who is really trying to “erase” the Ecumenical Patriarchate? It is not the Russians.