Greek theologian: "Autocephaly" of OCU creates problem for entire Orthodoxy

Patriarch Bartholomew created a problem for the whole Church, granting "autocephaly" to the OCU. Photo: Romfea

Greek theologian and priest Anastasios Gotsopoulos stated in an interview with the UOJ that granting autocephaly to the OCU by Pat. Bartholomew has not only healed the Ukrainian schism but extended it to the entire Orthodox Church.

According to him, "the establishment of autocephalous Churches was introduced for the sake of serving the unity of the Ecumenical Orthodox Church."

"Unfortunately, the autocephaly given to the Ukrainian Church in 2019 did not serve this unity either at a local or a pan-Orthodox level. Now, a few years after the Tomos of the OCU, we can confidently say this. Therefore, we can conclude that autocephaly, which has not served unity, should not have been granted," says the theologian.

He would ask supporters of the OCU's autocephaly a straightforward question: Has the Ukrainian schism been overcome, or perhaps, on the contrary, has it deepened and intensified?

"We see how hundreds of bishops, thousands of priests and monks, millions of believers are persecuted simply because they want to remain faithful to their church tradition. And in Greece, we cannot judge them for this faithfulness. They are in the spiritual environment in which they were born and raised. And they reject this autocephaly," the priest says.

According to him, the OCU issue "concerns the entire Orthodox Church".

"Such a thing never happened to autocephalies granted by the Ecumenical Patriarchate from the 15th to the 20th century. Never and nowhere has the granting of autocephaly created such problems in global communion," the theologian adds.

Previously, the same theologian explained whether the UOC clergy should commemorate the ROC Patriarch.

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