“Attempts to negotiate with the Heterodox have caused serious harm to the Church,” – a hierarch of the Greek Church on the results of the Crete Council

Metropolitan Nikolaos of Mesogaia and Lavreotiki, a hierarch of the Church of Greece, has shared his thoughts on the results of the Crete Council and on the future of inter-Orthodox dialogue, reports Agionoros citing Orthodoxia.info

Some are trying to convince everyone that the Council was a great event, “but when you try to convince people of the greatness of something, it means in reality it was not so great,” said the hierarch.

“I was expecting the Pan-Orthodox Council to become a great event; I hoped it would become something unadulterated and not crumpled,” Vladyka said, sharing his expectations.

However, he also believes it is incorrect to completely subvert the council and place it under complete doubt: “An attempt was made. Yes, mistakes were made, there were deficiencies, but the aspirations were pure.”

Met. Nikolaos also stressed the need “to gather and to understand where we stand. [As the Crete Council showed], we are not in the best condition. We need pan-Orthodox efforts. Attempts to negotiate with the heterodox have caused serious harm to the Orthodox Church.”