Polish hierarch: Over OCU, Church finds itself in a state of hybrid war

Archbishop George (Pankovsky). Photo: ru.wikipedia.org

On November 11, 2021, the rector of the Christian Theological Academy in Warsaw (Poland), Archbishop George (Pankovsky) of Wroclaw and Szczecin, said that today the Church is in a state of hybrid war.

During the International Conference at the KDAiS on the topic "Catholicity of the Church: Theological, Canonical and Historical Dimensions", Archbishop George said that today Orthodox Christians are convinced from their own experience "how sad, we hope so far, is the temporary cessation of Eucharistic communion between Local Churches".

Vladyka recalled that not so long ago, in the bilateral relations of some Local Churches, the mutual commemoration of the names of their primates ceased: "The Russian Orthodox Church – the Patriarchate of Constantinople, the Patriarchate of Constantinople – the Greek Orthodox Church, the Antiochian Patriarchate – the Jerusalem Patriarchate".

At the same time, the hierarch noted that “at that time we did not yet experience the bitter fruit of the rupture of the Eucharistic unity of the Church”, since “the Primates of the aforementioned Churches did not сommemorate each other, thus forcing us to rethink the canonical problems that had arisen between them”.

“Now this turned out to have been insufficient, and we have a situation where Eucharistic communion has also ceased between some Churches. Thus, today every Orthodox bishop is subject to the constant danger that he, even unconsciously and not maliciously, may fall into concelebration with those persons who are considered canonical hierarchs, that is, no one announced them as apostates from the faith and the Church, but somewhere some of them concelebrated with those persons who are considered canonical by some people while others find them not even having canonical ordination,” the representative of the Polish Church emphasized.

According to the bishop, "the current situation is similar to a very painful military model of the so-called ‘hybrid state’".

But, Archbishop George believes that "if in international geopolitics or in the army this can have its justification, then in the Church it cannot take place in any way".

At the end of his thought, the Polish hierarch recalled the words of St. Basil the Great, who said: "I do not recognize as a bishop and I will not rank one among the priests of Christ who was put forward to rule by worldly hands to destroy the faith."

As reported, Metropolitan Anthony (Pakanich) said the crisis in world Orthodoxy can be overcome by convening a Pan-Orthodox Council opposed by the Phanar.

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