Head of Greek Church is not going to Pan-Orthodox Synaxis in Jordan

Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens and All Greece. Photo: russia.greekreporter.com

The pan-Orthodox discussion of the issue of “preserving unity in the Eucharistic communion” in Jordan, which was initiated by the Primate of the Jerusalem Orthodox Church, Patriarch Theophilos III, will take place without the participation of the Primate of the Greek Orthodox Church, Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens and All Greece. This was reported in the online edition OrthodoxTimes.

“I cannot answer clearly because I do not know the criteria and where they come from. We do not know if this is the position of the Patriarch (i.e. of Jerusalem), or whether the Ecumenical Patriarch is aware of it or not. Not everyone can call a pan-orthodox meeting. It is the prerogative of the Ecumenical Patriarch. If the Ecumenical Patriarch calls us we will not say no, but if anyone else who is in charge of any Church calls us I will say ‘no’.”

This statement was made by the head of the Church of Greece after his meeting with the US Ambassador to Athens, Geoffrey Pyatt, during which they discussed the "Ukrainian religious issue" for an hour.

Pyatt handed Archbishop Ieronymos a letter from Sam Brownback, Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom. According to Pyatt, the recognition of the OCU by the head of the GOC is a historic decision to recognize the sovereignty of the Ukrainian people, and the United States appreciates the wisdom of Archbishop Ieronymos.

“Our criteria for ecclesiastical issues are ecclesiastical judgments. We stem fears, we see the problems but they do not have the same pressure with the ecclesiastical criteria that lead us on our path,” the Greek Primate shared his position. 

Recall, on November 21, 2019, Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem invited the Primate of the Local Orthodox Churches to discuss the “issue of maintaining our unity in Eucharistic communion” in Amman, Jordan.

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