UOC Chancellor: 7 Cypriot hierarchs are defenders of purity of Orthodoxy

Metropolitan Anthony (Pakanich). Photo: UOC Chancellor’s FB page

The Chancellor of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Anthony (Pakanich) of Boryspil and Brovary, expressed gratitude to the seven metropolitans of the Church of Cyprus who opposed the decision of Archbishop Chrysostomos to commemorate Epiphany Dumenko “for the bold defence of the canonical truth and purity of Orthodoxy”, reports the Greek resource “Romfea”.

“The current situation in Orthodoxy reminds me of the situation in the Church in the era of the Ecumenical Councils, namely in the Arian period,” Metropolitan Anthony noted in his commentary. “Then there was also chaos and divisiveness within the Church. Bishops were Arian, semi-Arians, some were Orthodox, such as Basil the Great, who was the only Orthodox bishop in all of Asia Minor. All the rest were either Arians or semi-Arians. A similar situation has developed in the Church today with the commemoration of the schismatic Epiphany."

The UOC Chancellor recalled the words of one wise man that “in dark times, bright people are clearly visible”.

“That is why I would like to express our gratitude to the seven metropolitans of the Church of Cyprus for their courageous defence of the canonical truth and purity of Orthodoxy.

In addition, I would like to emphasize that yesterday's events in the Church of Cyprus once again showed the crisis that world Orthodoxy is experiencing today is not a confrontation between Greeks and Russians or Ukrainians, or between the Greek and Slavic worlds, as some argue, but it is a confrontation between the defenders of the canonical order and purity in the Church and those who are destroying this order for the sake of non-church interests, violating the unity, conciliarity and canonicity of the Church. As we can see, there are strong defenders of canons and traditional ecclesiology in the Greek world,” resumed Metropolitan Anthony of Boryspil and Brovary.

As a reminder, on November 25, 2020, the Holy Synod of the Cypriot Orthodox Church, with a margin of 3 votes (with one abstention), supported the decision of Archbishop Chrysostomos to commemorate Epiphany Dumenko.

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