Head of Phanar accuses ROC of "flirting with the federalism of Orthodoxy"

Patriarch Bartholomew. Photo: kommersant.ru

On January 3, 2021, Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, in an interview with the Greek newspaper Vima tis Kyriakis, accused Patriarch Kirill of Moscow of “flirting with the federalism of Orthodoxy,” the Orthodox Times website reports.

According to the head of Phanar, Patriarch Kirill “flirts with the federalism of Orthodoxy according to his own standards."

He also stated that he could not let the "Orthodox ecclesiology change on the altar of lesser interests," and Patriarch Kirill "claims for himself the position that he never had and will not have."

The head of Phanar believes he made it clear that the real purpose behind the attacks on the way Ukrainian autocephaly had been granted was to “remove these unique responsibilities of the throne of Constantinople and transfer them to others."

Earlier, the UOJ wrote that in the opinion of Patriarch Bartholomew of the Orthodox Church, in order not to become like Protestants, it is necessary to change ecclesiology. He stated the need to revise the doctrine of the Church and recognize that in Orthodoxy there is a "First" not only in honor but also "with special responsibilities and regular powers."

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