Mass media: Cleric of Greek Church going to be OCU’s “bishop”

St. Michael Cathedral of OCU. Photo: Andrei Nikolenko

On May 25, the day after the meeting of the Synod of the OCU, a consecration will take place, at which the Greek archimandrite will become the “bishop” of the OCU. This is reported by the Greek resource Romfea with reference to its sources.

“An eminent cleric of the Hellenic Church is being groomed for ordination in the OCU. According to exclusive information from Romfea, the election of the Greek archimandrite is expected to take place on Friday, May 24. Romfea, for obvious reasons, does not publish the name of this priest, who, apparently, will play an intermediary role between Phanar and Kiev,” the newspaper writes.

It is reported that the ceremony on May 25 will be held by the hierarchs of the Constantinople Patriarchate.

Romfea’s publication does not indicate which jurisdiction the “eminent” priest belongs to, since part of the church structures in Greece has dual jurisdiction – the Church of Greece led by Archbishop Ieronymos and the Patriarchate of Constantinople. Since the hierarchy of the Hellenic Church has not yet expressed its attitude to the structure of the OCU, it can be assumed that the candidate for “bishop” of the OCU is a cleric of the Constantinople Church.

The publication indicates that this move is aimed at the recognition of OCU by the Local Churches and, according to representatives of Phanar, should facilitate this process.

According to Romfea, this ordination will provoke protests of the UOC and increase further tensions in Ukraine.

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