Expert: Papism heresy of the head of Phanar must be condemned conciliarly

Patriarch Bartholomew. Photo: tovima

The doctrine of the Patriarchate of Constantinople about its absolute primacy or the heresy of papism should receive a conciliar assessment of the Orthodox Churches, Athanasios Zoitakis, a specialist in the history of the Church and the history of Greece, one of the founders of the publishing house "Holy Mountain", said in a commentary to RIA Novosti.

He noted that the distortion of ecclesiology (doctrine of the Church) by the Patriarchate of Constantinople has not yet been officially formalized and confirmed by the Phanar, yet many theologians point out this already appears in some documents and statements of its representatives. First of all, this is manifested in Constantinople's claim to unlimited rights and primacy in the Orthodox world to the detriment of conciliarity, which has especially manifested itself recently, including in Ukraine.

According to Zoitakis, the actions of Phanar should receive an assessment from the side of Ecumenical Orthodoxy – all the local Orthodox Churches. “At the moment, there is no condemnation of the doctrine of the absolute primacy of the Patriarchate of Constantinople by the local Churches,” said the historian. “Moreover, even those who disagree with the actions of Phanar in Ukraine continue to be in Eucharistic communion with it, the only exception being the Russian Church.”

Zoitakis believes that this is one of the reasons why Patriarch Bartholomew's anticanonical actions in Ukraine have not yet been subject to any unified rebuff and public condemnation on Holy Mount Athos. He noted that some theologians close to Patriarch Bartholomew impart a "dogmatic content" to his actions, claiming that "like God the Father is the main hypostasis in the Trinity, like the Ecumenical Patriarch is in charge of the Orthodox Church." Therefore, a conciliar assessment of such position of Phanar is necessary. “So far the Orthodox, Ecumenical Church has not made a conciliar judgment. Heretics, as we remember, were recognized as such after they were condemned at the Ecumenical Councils, the historian said. “Though the teaching is obviously heretical, the very fact of conciliar condemnation is necessary. There is no follow-up for the time being, therefore, a common, joint work is necessary here."

As reported by the UOJ, the Greek priest and theologian believes that the actions of Patriarch Bartholomew in Ukraine violated the "Church order and Tradition".

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