Cypriot bishop: We will not be silent on Patriarch Bartholomew’s actions

Metropolitan Isaiah. Photo: orthodoxia.info

Metropolitan Isaiah of Tamassos of the Orthodox Church of Cyprus said that he respects the Patriarchate of Constantinople but will not be silent about his wrong actions.

In an interview with "Romfea", Metropolitan Isaiah noted that for him " the Ecumenical Patriarchate is the cradle of our Byzantine Civilization and the embodiment of the irresistible soul of the historical Greek Nation…., one of the holiest institutions of Orthodoxy, operating as an ark of both theology and Byzantine culture."

That is why, he says, "we will never make moves that will deliberately harm the Ecumenical Patriarchate, but we will not remain silent where we believe something is wrong."

“It is not a move against the Ecumenical Patriarchate to tell the truth the way you feel. If you love someone, you tell them exactly what you believe,” the hierarch emphasized.

He also said that the situation that has arisen in world Orthodoxy due to the “Ukrainian issue” is “this ordeal we are going through is an opportunity for spiritual reconstruction, both institutional and personal. God will help us if we help ourselves first."

At the end of the interview, Metropolitan Isaiah quoted Cicero, who, according to him, wrote: "It is difficult to remain silent when you are in pain."

“With this aching and anxious heart, I submit with this interview the voice of my hierarchical conscience and I leave myself to the judgment of God and history,” concluded the bishop.

As reported earlier, according to Metropolitan Isaiah of Tamassos, the primacy of the Patriarchate of Constantinople is the primacy of service, not power. 

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