Phanar hierarch: To overcome conflicts, we must renounce ethnophyletism

Metropolitan Emmanuel. Photo: orthodoxtimes.com

On November 26, 2025, Metropolitan Emmanuel of Chalcedon of the Ecumenical Patriarchate (Phanar) stated that the main obstacle to peace – both in the Church and in the world – remains ethnophyletism, which is placing national interests above church unity.

According to the Metropolitan, in the context of modern wars and internal church tensions, no political or organizational measures can lead to reconciliation if the logic of national exclusivity is not overcome.

"Life can blossom only if ethnophyletism dies and the arrogance of power is buried", he emphasized.

Metropolitan Emmanuel also stated that "transcending conflict requires humility. Those who invest in the superiority of their own race or ‘rightness’ ultimately become servants of hatred".

According to him, unity is impossible without abandoning national barriers within Christianity. He sent a clear message: “In an age when people are building walls, shepherds must dismantle the certainties that keep us apart and seek that unity which is ‘the bond of perfection'."

Speaking about wars – from the Middle East to Ukraine – the hierarch of Phanar reiterated that national pride and the ideology of ethnophyletism directly fuel conflicts: "Those who invest in the superiority of their own race or ‘rightness’ ultimately become servants of hatred. The two religious leaders will remind us that God transcends national symbols, and their message is that the only victory worth having is the victory over death.”

In conclusion, he emphasized that modern challenges require Churches to provide a "common witness", based not on a survival strategy, but on faith and responsibility towards the suffering people of Europe and the world.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that in Poland, an OCU cleric is accused of UPA propaganda and urged to leave the country.

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