Serbian theologian: In Kyiv, Phanar wants to show power which it lacks

Archpriest Darko Djogo. Photo: slobodnahercegovina.com

Patriarch Bartholomew's visit to Ukraine was motivated by the need to demonstrate power which the Phanar essentially does not have, said Archpriest Darko Djogo of the Serbian Orthodox Church, a professor at the Orthodox Theological Faculty of St. Basil of Ostrog University in East Sarajevo, in an interview with Sputnik Srbia.

“This visit was necessary for Ukrainian nationalists to present their newly acquired church identity as a thing generally recognized and generally accepted in the Orthodox world,” Father Darko said. “For Ukrainian nationalists, the visit of the pseudo-Ecumenical Patriarch should become a kind of legitimization of the whole process, which began earlier under Poroshenko and the former government.”

According to the professor, the secular authorities had their own motive for inviting the head of the Phanar – the need to once again show their legitimacy.

“The Phanar itself, on the other hand, clearly needs some kind of demonstration of power, which it essentially does not have, and it is possible that there are certain profitable motives, because, as we know from the so-called tomos on the so-called autocephaly, there were specific financial benefits and the status of monasteries in Ukraine indicated, which should bring benefits to Constantinople,” the priest of the Serbian Church emphasized.

Father Darko drew attention to the fact that a large number of Orthodox theologians who received education close to the Greek one charish the idea that the Phanar plays the role of a pan-Orthodox policeman. And they continue to do this, despite the obvious aggressiveness of the Patriarchate of Constantinople.

On the other hand, there are people who do not support the Phanar’s actions but ask the question: "What shall we do if Constantinople takes away our autocephaly?" According to the Serbian theologian, this issue is dangerous for the Church.

“In addition to centuries of experience showing that Constantinople is not well-meaning, it is deadly for modern Orthodoxy to ask such a question,” he said. "In any case, we must gradually get used to a world in which the Patriarchate of Constantinople no longer exists."

As reported, Patriarch Bartholomew said that the Orthodox and Catholics want to restore unity in communion.

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