Hierarch of Greek Church: “Autocephaly” for OCU – an immense danger

Metropolitan Seraphim of Kythira. Photo: pravoslavie.ru

On December 31, 2019, the hierarch of the Greek Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Seraphim of Kythira, in his address to the flock declared that the “Ukrainian issue” is a huge danger that could cause a split in Orthodoxy. This was reported by the site "Vimaorthodoxias".

“A more dangerous and disturbing issue is the well-known Ukrainian problem of uncanonically granted ‘autocephaly’. This is an immense spiritual danger,” said the Greek Metropolitan.

He emphasized that it is necessary to quickly, canonically and decisively resolve the "confusing canonical and ecclesiological issue being inherently difficult to solve."

According to the hierarch, "the anti-canonical course and development of the acute Ukrainian problem" has dragged on, and therefore attention should be paid to the appeal of the Primate of the Albanian Orthodox Church, Archbishop Anastasios, in which the Archbishop, with the help of ecclesiastic laws, substantiated the anticanonicality of "autocephaly", granted to the breakaway group.

The Metropolitan also refers to the call of the Albanian First Hierarch to convene as soon as possible the Council of Primates of Local Churches.

As reported by the UOJ, in the opinion of Metropolitan Seraphim, the Tomos was issued “under the pressure of powerful external gears, while the initiative to grant it “is an explicitly illegal precedent that clearly contradicts the Holy Canons and the two-millennium tradition of our Church.”

Earlier, Metropolitan Seraphim of Kythira addressed a letter to Patriarch Bartholomew, in which he declared inconceivable the reinstatement of excommunicated and anathematized schismatics as canonical bishops and clergy. The hierarch also recalled in a letter that "Primate of the Autocephalous Church of Ukraine" Epiphanius received the consecration and all three degrees of priesthood from former Metropolitan of Kiev Filaret – "de-facto excommunicated, anathematized and schismatic".

Read also