Source: Orthodox Christianity CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO Thessaloniki — Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens and All Greece and Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople concelebrated the Divine Liturgy in Thessaloniki today together with a number of hierarchs from their respective Local Churches. The Liturgy was celebrated in the 5th-century Byzantine Church of the Acheiropoietos, reports Romfea. Most significantly, “Metropolitan” Epiphany Dumenko, the primate of the schismatic “Orthodox Church of Ukraine,” created by Pat. Bartholomew and ex-President Petro Poroshenko of Ukraine, was commemorated in the service as a primate of a Local Church. This marks the first time Epiphany was commemorated and entered into…
Browsing: Patriarch Bartholomew
Source: Orthodox Christianity Mt. Athos — Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople will travel to Mt. Athos tomorrow and stay until Tuesday the 22nd, visiting a number of monasteries and sketes. Yesterday, just two days before the Patriarch is to arrive, U.S. Consul General in Thessaloniki Gregory Pfleger also arrived on the Holy Mountain, according to Romfea, which reports that his plans are to visit Karyes, the administrative center of Mt. Athos, where he will meet with members of the Holy Epistasia, which is the chief executive monastic body. It is also reported that he will spend the night in two different monasteries. Pleger…
Source: Union of Orthodox Journalists Elena Konstantinova Patriarch Bartholomew did not allow Metropolitan Kipriyan to serve in the church of Sts Constantine and Helena in Adrianople. Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople did not allow Metropolitan Kipriyan of Stara Zagora of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church to perform the Divine Liturgy in the church of Saints Constantine and Helena of the Bulgarian community in the city of Adrianople in Turkey, the Greek site Romfea reports. The publication notes that the Bulgarian community of the city of Adrianople is under the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, thus permission and blessing of the Ecumenical Patriarchate must be…
Source: Union of Orthodox Journalists Taras Rebikov Will the Local Churches decide to convene a Pan-Orthodox Council and what will it entail for Phanar and Ukraine? Nine months have passed since the day when Phanar recognized the Ukrainian schismatics. Over this time, several things became apparent. Firstly, the Tomos not only failed to heal the split in Ukraine, but exacerbated it even more. Secondly, it caused a split within the existing secession. Thirdly, the Tomos can now be called one of the main reasons for a hypothetic pan-Orthodox split (in addition to the power-hungry Patriarch Bartholomew and Phanar as a whole). The…
Source: Orthodox Christianity Background [Athens] – One of the biggest battlegrounds in the Ukrainian Church Crisis has been whether or not the Church of Greece will recognize the Ukrainian schismatics. The latest news on the matter came on August 29, when it was reported that the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece recognizes the right of the Phanar to “grant autocephalies” but also stopped short of specifically recognizing the Ukrainian schismatics. The issue of recognizing the schismatic OCU within the Greek Church is highly polarizing, unlike in the Polish or Serbian Churches where there is virtual unanimity among the bishops. Some…
Source: Union of Orthodox Journalists Protopriest Andrey Nikolaidi How many canons were violated by the Patriarchate of Constantinople by creating a parallel jurisdiction in Ukraine. The modern ecclesiastic situation in Ukraine, provoked by the actions of Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, appears as a crucial challenge vis-à-vis the plentitude of World Orthodoxy. One option is to accept the point of view of Constantinople and finally destroy the canonical law system that has developed on the foundation of the apostolic vision of the Church. The other is to remain faithful to Orthodox ecclesiology and reject Phanar’s unilateral actions. Despite the fact that Constantinople positions itself…
Source: Union of Orthodox Journalists Taras Rebikov In an attempt to justify its concelebration with the Ukrainian schismatics, Constantinople descends to a distortion of facts and a blatant lie. The most inexplicable story in the history of the creation of the OCU for the Orthodox World was the question of how the Phanar was going to solve the obvious problem of the “hierarchs” of the UOC-KP and UAOC having no canonical ordinations. In the autumn and winter of 2018, when it became clear that the Patriarchate of Constantinople was determined to give autocephaly to the schismatic structures, there were various…
Source: Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America September 1, 2019 Prot. No. 582 + B A R T H O L O M E W By God’s Mercy Archbishop of Constantinople-New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch To All the Plenitude of the Church Grace, Peace and Mercy from the Maker of All Creation Our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ Dearest brother Hierarchs and beloved children in the Lord, With the goodness and grace of the all-bountiful God, today marks the 30th anniversary since the Holy Great Church of Christ established the feast of Indiction and first day of the ecclesiastical year…
Source: Byzantine, TX (president.gov.ua) – President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky had a meeting with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I at the Fener in Istanbul. The Ecumenical Patriarch reiterated support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked the Ecumenical Patriarch for supporting Ukraine. “Our common value is human life. This is the main thing for me, especially now, when I became President of Ukraine. The authorities shouldn’t interfere in church affairs. I will defend the independence of the church,” the Head of State emphasized. The agenda of the President’s visit to Turkey also includes St. George’s Cathedral located on the…
Source: Orthodox Christianity Arkady Maler The author of this analysis of the current threat hanging over world Orthodoxy, Arkady Maler, is a scholar and teacher of philosophy specializing in Russian religious philosophy. He is a member of the Synodal Biblical-Theological Commission of the Inter-Council Presence of the Moscow Patriarchate and founder of Moscow’s “Byzantine Club”. Maler is the author of four religious-philosophical books, which include the theme of Constantine the Great, and Russia’s spiritual mission. A half a year did not go by from the formation by the Constantinople Patriarchate of a hastily-cobbled, politically strategic, fake church in Ukraine under…
Source: OCP Media Network Sophia Iliadi – Independent Article – 27/6/19 The Orthodox world is facing a total rearrangement. The balance of powers and the distribution of influence between 14 mutually recognized Local Orthodox Churches is shifting as the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, historically first among equal autocephalous Churches, has completely lost its weight. This is happening against the background of an unfolding crisis, which Orthodoxy hasn’t witnessed since the Great Schism of 1054. The threat of a new schism emerged because of Patriarch Bartholomew’s ambitions who claims he is the leader of the Orthodox world. The division affects nearly…
Source: OCP Media Network by Tamar Lomidze The Patriarchate of Constantinople has recently been shaken by scandals. First, Metropolitan Emmanuel of France got accused of pederasty, then Metropolitan Elpidophoros of Bursa was appointed Archbishop of the Greek American Archdiocese (GOA) bypassing the opinion of American hierarchs, which caused sharp criticism among US clergy and laity. Now, the whole Orthodox world is watching in confusion, conflict in Bartholomew’s new-born organization – the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), whose leaders (“Honorary Patriarch” Filaret and “formal” Primate Epiphanius) are pushing the new autocephalous Church into a schism, the first in its short history.…