Pat. John X: Creation of OCU is a threat to the unity of the Orthodox world
His Beatitude Patriarch John X of Antioch
His Beatitude Patriarch John X of Antioch urged Pat. Bartholomew to stop the process of granting autocephaly until a pan-Orthodox solution could be found to the Ukrainian crisis, reports Patriarchia.ru.
Responding to Patriarch Bartholomew’s request to recognize the OCU, Patriarch John X of Antioch wrote: “We want to see the unity of the Orthodox world strengthened and consolidated. From your letter, it seems that you have decided to continue the process of granting autocephaly… Therefore, we call upon you to not make any decisions not supported by the consensus of the autocephalous Orthodox Churches. It is unreasonable to stop a schism at the price of the unity of the Orthodox world.”
The Primate of the Antioch Orthodox Church expressed confidence that “the most useful thing for peace in the Church, its unity, and for the common Orthodox witness in our world today is to stop and postpone this process until the Ukrainian problem is studied and a pan-Orthodox solution is found.”
“Therefore, we entreat Your All-Holiness to call your brother primates of the Orthodox Churches to study these issues, to protect our Church from danger, which leads to peace and harmony neither in Ukraine nor in the Orthodox world,” Pat. John writes.
“Our love for our Orthodox Church and Your beloved Holiness prompts us to write these words with the hope of seeing the Orthodox world united, especially in your wonderful era, bearing witness to the Truth of our Lord Jesus, incarnated for the sake of the salvation of the world,” His Beatitude Pat. John emphasized.
As the UOJ reported, the Belarusian Church they said they were not going to contact the newly-formed OCU; the Bishops' Councils of the Serbian and Polish Orthodox Churches did not recognize the legalization of the schism in Ukraine by the Constantinople Patriarchate, and the Primate of the ROCOR also condemned the Phanar’s act against the Orthodox Ukrainians. According to him, the activities of Constantinople in Ukraine will "only worsen the discord among believers".
Read also
Shevchuk tells Budanov of UGCC’s “state-building role”
The head of the Uniates told the head of the Presidential Office that his Church was ready to partner with the state and presented him with a book on the work of special services in the Church.
Authorities decline to disclose Ukraine’s population size
The State Statistics Service acknowledged that it has up-to-date population estimates for the country, but has decided not to make them public.
Lithuanian govt vows to protect Orthodox Church from Russian intelligence
Lithuania’s Foreign Ministry has called for curbing the influence of Russian intelligence services on the Church, while an adviser to President Nausėda warned against labeling the entire structure a security threat.
During Ramadan, Patriarch Theodoros hosts Islamic iftar at his residence
Patriarch Theodoros of Alexandria hosted a meal for Muslim workers breaking their fast in the courtyard of the Patriarchate and thanked a sheikh for his “brotherhood.”
Lawsuit filed against Patriarch of Constantinople
A Turkish official has accused Patriarch Bartholomew and dozens of clergy of “illegal activity” and violating the Treaty of Lausanne.
OCU cleric buried with Church Slavonic funeral shroud
In the Ternopil Eparchy of the OCU, a cleric was buried under a funeral shroud bearing inscriptions in Church Slavonic.