Source: National Catholic Register NEWS ANALYSIS: Pope Francis cautions Catholics not to ‘meddle’ in ecclesiological conflict between the Orthodox Church of Constantinople and the Russian Orthodox Church. Victor Gaetan The accelerating dispute in Ukraine between two Orthodox Churches — the Church of Constantinople, a historic Church with spiritual prestige, and the 140-million-member Russian Orthodox Church, a powerhouse in terms of membership muscle, political clout and wealth — is ominous because it forecasts conflict in a country already suffering a “fratricidal” war, to use Pope Francis’ term. The Russian Orthodox Church broke Eucharistic communion with the Church of Constantinople Oct. 15 in response…
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Source: ROMFEA In the last months, we are witnessing a very dangerous and seemingly unjustifiable crisis which erupted within our Church. The reason of this crisis is the imminent granting of autocephaly to the Church of Ukraine or rather the creation of an autocephalous Church in Ukraine. It seems that inter-Orthodox relations are a major issue in our days, and although union with the other Christian dogmas is the goal, the Orthodox, although they ascertain love between them, they de-construct this love in their life; they proclaim the union of the blessed sacrament between them but they practice the opposite.…
Source: Orthodox Church in America 09.26.2018 09/016 To the Clergy, Monastics, and Faithful of the Orthodox Church in America: Christ is in our midst! I write in reference to recent developments respecting the Orthodox Church in Ukraine which have received much media attention. The Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America has been closely following these developments inasmuch as they have an impact in our own communities. Many of our parishes have been affected by the painful historical ecclesiastical divisions that have existed in Ukraine for decades. In recent years, these ecclesiastical divisions have been overtaken by…
Source: Orthodox Christian Studies Center of Fordham University The Orthodox Christian Studies Center of Fordham University is internationally known for its intelligent, sophisticated understanding of Orthodoxy. Professor Aristotle Papanikolaou and Professor George Demacopoulos are often interviewed for their expert commentary on Orthodox history, theology, and culture. As tensions persist between His All Holiness, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople and His Holiness, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, media outlets around the world turn to the Orthodox Christian Studies Center co-directors for their analysis of the Ukrainian autocephaly crisis. Co-Directors’ Expert Commentary on Ukrainian Autocephaly “Orthodox Church Leaders Duel Over Ukraine, Meet With Pope Francis”…
Source: The Tablet by John Chryssavgis Orthodox disunity It is tempting to consign the rift between Constantinople and Moscow – this time over autocephaly in Ukraine – to competition within the Orthodox world over power and jurisdiction. The reality is more complex. Beyond the multifaceted religious intrigue lie murky geopolitical ramifications. The matter transcends any exercise of right or even the simple exhibition of might. The issue of the autocephaly (literally, “self-headed”, or self-governing) of the Church in Ukraine, along with questions of the validity of orders and sacraments, are vital to Orthodox unity, but they pale before the isolationism and…
Source: The Conversation by Alexander Titov The Moscow Patriarchate recently announced that it is breaking its ties with the Patriarchate of Constantinople, triggering what is potentially the biggest split in the Orthodox Church in a thousand years. So why is one of the great defenders of Christianity tearing itself apart? The tussle between Moscow and Constantinople is over Ukraine, and Constantinople’s declaration on October 15 that the Ukrainian church is no longer part of Moscow’s patrimony. And behind this is Ukraine’s divided national identity – and the woes of its current president. There have long been two main Ukrainian identities: Eastern Slavic (or Little Russian)…
Source: Orthodoxia.info Andreas Loudaros Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew yesterday sent a clear message to Russia vis-à-vis the Ukraine issue, stating that Constantinople has no intention whatsoever of giving in to pressure. While addressing an audience at an event in Istanbul celebrating the 150th anniversary of the establishment of the Feriköy Greek community, His All-Holiness made it clear that the prerogatives of the Ecumenical Patriarchate are rooted in the decisions of the Ecumenical Councils and legally binding for all within Orthodoxy. “Whether our Russian brothers like it or not, soon enough they will get behind the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s solution, as they will…
Source: Orthodox Christianity Metropolitan Amfilohije (Radovich) His Eminence, Amfilohije, Archbishop of Cetinje and Metropolitan of Montenegro and the Littoral, and of the Highlands of Brda, and Exarch of the Throne of Peć gave an interview to “Channel One” Russia. “The decisions of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew and his Synod concerning the Ukrainian issue, are, in my opinion catastrophic, both for the Patriarchate of Constantinople, and for resolving the Church question in Ukraine, as well as for the unity of the Orthodox Church. We in our Church are simply shocked at how the Ecumenical Patriarch—an expert on the canons—made…
Source: Orthodox Christianity KIEV – Meeting today in Kiev, the Synod of the schismatic “Kiev Patriarchate” (KP) has officially changed the title of its primate, “Patriarch” Philaret, to include the Kiev Caves and Pochaev Lavras under his jurisdiction. The primate’s new official title, as given on the site of the KP, is “His Holiness and Beatitude (name), Archbishop and Metropolitan of Kiev—Mother of the cities of Rus’, and Galicia, Patriarch of All Rus’-Ukraine, Svyaschenno-Archimandrite of the Holy Dormition Kiev Caves and Pochaev Lavras.” The title “Svyaschenno-Archimandrite” is taken from Russian Church practice and is used in stavropegial monasteries to refer to…
Source: Religious Information Service of Ukraine (RISU) Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew will come to Kyiv to personally hand over the Tomos of autocephaly to the leader of the united Ukrainian Church. President’s parliamentary representative Iryna Lutsenko said this in live broadcast of the Pryamyy, reports LB ua. “The main thing is to hold the unifying council, which will be able to choose the primate, whom the Ecumenical Patriarch will personally hand over the Tomos – he is going to come to Ukraine,” she said, commenting on the transfer of the St Andrew’s Church into the use of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. “This…
Source: Orthodox Synaxis The recent controversy over the Orthodox Church in Ukraine has been the subject of a lot of confusion, especially online. The following questions and answers attempt to clear up confusion in a non-partisan way that does not take sides in the dispute. Updates will be added whenever new information comes to light, so check back periodically. LAST UPDATED DEC. 10, 2018 Who are the players in the current dispute and what is being disputed? The primary parties in the dispute are the Russian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate, MP), led by Patriarch Kyrill, and the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople (EP),…
Source: RT News n the biggest rift in modern Orthodox history, the Russian Orthodox Church has cut all ties with the Constantinople Patriarchate, after it accepted a breakaway division of Ukrainian Orthodox Church as independent. The Holy Synod, the governing body of the Russian Orthodox Church, has ruled that any further clerical relations with Constantinople are impossible, Metropolitan Hilarion, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church’s External Relations Department, told journalists, de facto announcing the breach of relations between the two churches. “A decision about the full break of relations with the Constantinople Patriarchate has been taken at a Synod…