UOJ recalls Vatopedi abbot’s position on Ukraine

Archimandrite Ephraim, abbot of Vatopedi Monastery on Mount Athos. Photo: UOJ

Epifaniy’s enthronement is scheduled for February 3. According to reports, the abbots of two Athonite monasteries – Vatopedi and Xenophontos – are expected to attend as part of the Constantinople delegation: Archimandrite Ephraim and Archimandrite Alexios.

As previously reported, on January 28, 2019, the Holy Community of Mount Athos, meeting in an extraordinary session, rejected a request from Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew to send an Athonite delegation to the enthronement of the “new Ukrainian primate,” Epifaniy Dumenko. Nevertheless, the head of the Phanar managed to find a way to send the abbots of two monasteries to Kyiv separately. Although they would not be coming as representatives of Mount Athos but merely as individual members of the Constantinople delegation, the news nevertheless caused surprise among Orthodox Christians.

After all, Archimandrite Ephraim is known for his firm and uncompromising stance in defense of the canonical Church in Ukraine.

The UOJ decided to recall some of the Vatopedi abbot’s best-known statements.

“I appeal to the Ukrainian people and ask them to remain faithful to the canonical Orthodox Church headed by His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry,” the archimandrite told the sobor.by website in 2015. “And I lovingly ask you to remain members of the canonical Church. The entire Holy Mountain accepts and recognizes only the canonical Ukrainian Church headed by Metropolitan Onuphry.”

Speaking about the schism in Ukraine in 2017, Archimandrite Ephraim said: “Anyone who has gone into schism must understand that he is already outside the fold of the Church. Here on the Holy Mountain of Athos, we are deeply saddened by the Ukrainian schism caused by Filaret. We therefore appeal to all our brothers who have left the canonical Church and ask them to return to the fold of the canonical Orthodox Church.”

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