Greek hierarch: Bonds of Orthodoxy cannot be severed over geopolitics

Metropolitan Nektarios of Corfu. Photo: Rofmea.gr

Metropolitan Nektarios of Kerkyra has summed up his pilgrimage to Russia with the right hand of St. Spyridon of Trimythous. The Greek hierarch spoke about the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece approving the visit, the spiritual purpose of bringing the relic, and the centuries-old unity of Orthodox Christians, Orthodoxia News Agency reports.

According to the metropolitan, after the Greek delegation returned home, it became necessary to provide detailed explanations about the preparations for the trip because inaccurate information had circulated in the media. The pilgrimage was conducted on canonical grounds and with the official permission of the Church authorities in Athens.

On March 24, 2026, Metropolitan Nektarios submitted a request to the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece, and on May 5 the Synod approved the trip. After preliminary oral consultations, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus proposed and agreed to expand the itinerary for the relic, and on July 1 the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece issued a second authorization signed by Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens and All Greece.

Metropolitan Nektarios stressed that the pilgrimage continues a long-standing tradition of taking the saint’s right hand to different countries around the world. The relic had previously been taken to the United States in 2017, as well as to Cyprus, Ukraine, Syria, Romania, Poland, Belarus, Georgia, and other eparchies in Greece.

The sole purpose of bringing the right hand of St. Spyridon, he said, is to give Orthodox Christians around the world who are unable to travel to Kerkyra the opportunity to receive the saint’s blessing, strengthen their faith, and support them in their spiritual struggle in an age of secularization and eroding values.

“We do not believe that people should be deprived of the saint’s blessing for reasons that have nothing to do with religious faith and are geopolitical in nature. Those reasons will disappear sooner or later, while the saint’s blessing transcends temporary disagreements,” Metropolitan Nektarios said.

The hierarch recalled that the Greek and Russian peoples are bound by unbreakable spiritual ties dating back to 988, when the Patriarchate of Constantinople and the Byzantine Empire baptized Kyiv.

“These bonds between our peoples, founded on the Orthodox faith and identity, cannot be erased for geopolitical reasons that will not last forever. The Church has been, is, and will remain the foundation of our common path and unity,” the Metropolitan of Kerkyra concluded.

As the UOJ reported, the OCU leadership in the Volyn Eparchy earlier urged its pilgrims to criticize Metropolitan Nektarios for bringing the relics of St. Spyridon to Russia.

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