Polish Church calls for Pat. Bartholomew to convene Inter-Orthodox Synaxis

Metropolitan Sawa of Warsaw and All Poland

His Beatitude Metropolitan Sawa of Warsaw and All Poland has addressed His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople to convene a Synaxis of the primates of the Orthodox Churches to discuss the Ukrainian Church question, reports the site of the UOC Information and Education Department, with reference to the Greek portal orthodoxia.info.

Referring to exclusive sources, the portal reports that Met. Sawa noted in his letter that the situation in Ukraine is worsening every day and needs to be discussed at a pan-Orthodox level. He does not speak about the topic of autocephaly in the letter, but only emphasizes the need for a meeting of the primates with a view to a broad discussion of the ecclesial issue in the region.

Earlier, other primates of the Orthodox Churches have highlighted the need for a broad discussion of the Ukrainian issue.

Late last month, Met. Sawa released a joint statement with His Beatitude Patriarch Theodoros II of Alexandria and All Africa who was visiting Poland, in which the two primates called for the relevant authorities to do whatever necessary to ensure peace in Ukraine over the issue of the possibility of creating a united autocephalous Church.

Pat. Theodoros then travelled to Ukraine for the support and consolation of the faithful of the canonical Ukrainian Church, where he encouraged the hierarchs, clergy, and flock to remain faithful to the canonical Church and pledged to inform all the primates of the Local Orthodox Churches about the truth of the crisis situation in Ukraine. 

His Holiness Patriarch Irinej of Serbia also earlier sent a letter to Pat. Bartholomew, also pointing to the negative consequences for all Orthodox that could come from the situation in Ukraine. He also called on Constantinople to open a dialogue with Moscow to resolve the issue.

As the UOJ reported, the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill sent letters to the heads of all Local Orthodox Churches with a proposal to initiate a pan-Orthodox discussion of the situation around the church life of Ukraine.

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