RUSSIA RELIGION NEWS


Moscow hunts for support against Constantinople

POROSHENKO CROSSED UP BARTHOLOMEW; SCHISM LOOMS WITHIN CONSTANTINOPLE

by Anton Skripunov

RIA Novosti, 19 September 2018

 

Constantinople, following Kiev and with the support of Washington, confidently declared that there will be an "independent church" in Ukraine. And the warnings of the Russian Orthodox Church about a global schism are beginning to come true. The actions of Patriarch Bartholomew have been condemned even by the main ally of the ecumenical patriarchate, the Greek church. And now everyone is awaiting the reaction of the Athos monks, who are very authoritative in the Orthodox world. RIA Novosti is trying to understand on whose side they stand.

 

Collapse of a dream

 

A crowd of many thousands is chanting in the center of Kiev: "Glory to Ukraine!" Accompanied by these shouts the president and patriarch shake one another's hands. Both have achieved what they wanted: one realized the "historic dream of the Ukrainian people," and the other finally united around himself the entirety of world Orthodoxy. On the occasion of such a grand event they release a commemorative medal with an image of Poroshenko and Bartholomew similar to the one in 2008. At that time, Constantinople did not allow the third president of Ukraine, Viktor Yushchenko, to create an "independent church." Now everything is different.

 

It is such a scenario that is dreamed of both in Kiev and in the Istanbul district of the Phanar, where the residence of Patriarch Bartholomew is located. In the last two weeks both sides have ceased to be embarrassed by their wishes.

 

"We together, especially in the last three years, have traveled that path (of granting autocephaly to the Ukrainian church—ed. note) and within the framework of this path we now can say that we have reached the home stretch," Poroshenko declared at a meeting with Bartholomew's exarchs.

 

Constantinople's emissaries arrived in Ukraine on 14 September. Three days later they met with the president and announced their goals.

 

"We have come with an extraordinary mission. We represent Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, . . . in order to continue work on the matter that has already been decided that the beginning of the process of granting autocephaly to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church has already started. . . . We have come here not in order to divide Ukrainian Orthodoxy but, on the contrary, to take yet more steps in order to bring about the unity for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church that everyone wants," Archbishop of Pamphilon Daniel, one of the exarchs, reported.

 

By the way, Archbishop of Pamphilon Daniel and Bishop of Edmonton Ilarion belong to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in America, which belongs to the Constantinople patriarchate. Its parishioners are Ukrainian emigrants, of which they are very many in the U.S.A. and Canada.

 

The ecclesiastical "Varangians" intend to meet in Ukraine with representatives of three main religious structures. They are the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UPTs), which is the only one recognized by all local Orthodox Churches of the world as legitimate and is the largest religious organization in the country by way of number of followers and parishes; the so-called Kiev patriarchate, whose head, Filaret, yielded to schism; and also yet another structure not recognized by world Orthodoxy, the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAPTs), which was created after the revolution by Ukrainian nationalists.

 

The primate of the canonical UPTs, Metropolitan of Kiev and all-Ukraine Onufrey, has already refused to meet with the exarchs. And here is why.

 

The point is that the UPTs, being completely independent administratively and financially, is nominally a part of the structure of the Russian Orthodox Church. Therefore the actions of Constantinople, speaking in secular terms, represent an illegal invasion of the canonical territory of the Russian Orthodox Church. And in Moscow it is very well understood really why Bartholomew's representatives have arrived. "Usually in such circumstances only one exarch is sent. Our brothers in Ukraine immediately raised the question: why two exarchs, for what? The whole point is that two bishops may consecrate a third bishop," the head of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow patriarchate, Metropolitan Ilarion, explains.

 

Revolt of the monks

 

Bartholomew's propositions with the schismatics led to an unexpected result. The Greek church called the patriarch to repent—no more nor less—for provoking a schism.

 

"Schismatics, as is known, are not the church, and communication with them is forbidden by divine and secular canons, and by the apostolic and ecumenical councils. So then why this insistence and persistence of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew for the recognition of the schismatics by an autocephalous church? Why promote the schism and division of the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church of Christ? . . . Everyone knows the saying of the Holy Prelate John Chrysostom that "the sin of schism is not washed away even by martyr's blood," Metropolitan of Kifir and Antekifir Seraphim addressed Bartholomew with such stern words.

 

Judging by everything, Patriarch Bartholomew must listen to a lot more criticism. "I think the Athos monks especially weaken the position of Bartholomew within the Constantinople patriarchate, much more than individual metropolitans. On the contrary, the position monks of Athos strengthens the position of the Moscow patriarchate in the Orthodox world," concludes religious studies expert Roman Lunkin, the director of the Center for the Study of Problems of Religion and Society of the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

 

For Athos monks, as for many Orthodox, Patriarch Bartholomew "personifies modernism in the Orthodox world," which is intolerable for them. And for believers, Athos is one of the chief symbols of Orthodox spirituality

 

Formally, the Holy Mountain is subordinate to Constantinople, although its inhabitants have several times openly criticized Bartholomew for violation of the purity of the faith. And their attitude on the Ukrainian question is well known.

 

"We on the Holy Mount Athos are very sad because of the Ukrainian schism, which Filaret made. . . . If a person is outside the church, no matter how he tries he cannot achieve holiness. Those who have gone into schism must understand that they are outside the bosom of the church," said the abbot of the Vatoped monastery, Archimandrite Ephraim.

 

It is quite likely that Athos monks condemn the uncanonical actions of Patriarch Bartholomew with regard to Ukraine. "The whole Orthodox world awaits what is now being discussed," political scientist Arkady Maler argues. "Athos has always been famous for being principled in the matter of observing the canons," the expert notes.

 

And Constantinople puts pressure on monasteries that are located on its territory. The political scientist does not rule out that in the struggle for purity of the faith and friendship with Patriarch Bartholomew, some representatives of Athos monasticism will choose the latter.

 

"We must understand that Athos is 20 independent monasteries and each represents a different world. If one follows the logic of the history of Athos, it is quite likely that they will cut off fellowship with Constantinople," Maler thinks.

 

As an example he cited the brotherhood of the Esfigmen cloister, which fifty years ago revolted against the ecumenical patriarch because he met with the Roman pope. Now the monastery does not have canonical fellowship with its neighbors on the Holy Mount and it does not commemorate the ecumenical patriarch.

 

In the event of the declaration of "war" by Constantinople, the Athos monasteries might either transfer into the jurisdiction of one or another local Orthodox church or scatter in various ways. "There is a Serbian monastery, a Bulgarian, and even a Russian monastery there," Maler recalls.

 

Everything is not so simple in Ukraine. Although the matter of autocephaly is presented by Kiev as settled, there are a couple of key intrigues.

 

First, are ordinary believers ready to become the flock of a new "independent church"? As is known, in 1990 the RPTs granted the Ukrainian church complete autonomy. However Filaret, at the time still the head of the church in Ukraine, decided to go further and demand autcephaly from Moscow. Neither the clergy nor the flock in their majority shared his aspirations. "Originally Filaret condemned the autocephalists, but eventually he joined them. The people did not like that," the press secretary of the UPTs, Vadily Anisimov, recalled.

 

Ukrainian clergymen are sure that believers will not leave their church even now. For example, about a quarter million persons came out for the great procession of the cross of the UPTs on 27 July. The next day, 60 to 65 thousand Ukrainians participated in the procession of the schismatics.

 

The second point: what to do with "patriarch" Filaret, who does not conceal his ambitions? For months now he has been talking about a virtual "autocephalous church" as if he were its primate.

 

"We are planning that all bishops of the Moscow patriarchate and the UAPTs will remain in their posts and with their own parishioners. If some bishop comes with half a diocese, then he will lead the half; if he transfers with 300 parishes, he will lead them," Filaret stated in an interview with RBKUkraina. And he affirmed that he will not give up the post of head of the new structure to anybody else.

 

It seems that the Phanar  has gone so far with the Ukrainian adventure that a road back is not visible. Now in Ukraine the reaction of not only Athos and the Greeks but also of all local churches is awaited.

 

"I consider that the local churches must condemn the actions of Patriarch Bartholomew. After all, soon this will affect everybody. In any church there are schismatics, and if  everything goes well with Ukraine, it will begin to take them into its bosom," the Ukrainian priest Rostislav Yarema argues.

 

Representatives of the Orthodox clergy and experts are sure: granting autocephaly in any case will not eliminate the "bad blood" for participants in the process. (tr. by PDS, posted 19 September 2018)

 

 


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