By Evagelos Sotiropoulos
“Therefore
whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do
according to their works; for they say, and do not do” (Matthew 23:3).
The
reaction of the Moscow Patriarchate to the recent decisions by the
Ancient Patriarchate of Alexandria, as well as the Church of Greece, to
formally recognize the Orthodox Church in Ukraine (OCU) and its primate,
Metropolitan Epiphanios of Kyiv and all Ukraine, reminds me of the
Bible passage above.
Last November, in my article “Caring for the Church of Ukraine: Constantinople’s Calmness Carries the Day” published in Providence Magazine,
I wrote that local Orthodox churches should seriously examine Moscow’s
reaction to the granting of the Tomos of Autocephaly to the OCU by His
All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and the Holy and Sacred
Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate: “For today the target is
Constantinople, but tomorrow it could be them, if their interests do not
align with those of Moscow.”
This
is precisely what is unfolding in the aftermath of the decisions taken
by Patriarch Theodore and Archbishop Ieronymos; Moscow’s purported
priority to honour and uphold pan-Orthodox unity, is not consistent according to their works.
Heavenly
King, Comforter, the Spirit of Truth, who dwell in all places and fill
all things, treasury of good things and giver of life, come and abide in
us and cleanse us of every impurity, and save our souls, O Good One.
Seemingly
without any sense of humility or fear of God, the Church of Russia has
become the self-appointed arbiter of where the Holy Spirit is present.
Following
the formal recognition of the OCU, Moscow responded to the Patriarchate
of Alexandria and Church of Greece the same way it did to the
Ecumenical Patriarchate – it severed communion with both local churches.
That is, it weaponized the Body and Blood of Christ, the very source,
the mystery that manifests the unity of all Orthodox who are one in Christ Jesus (cf. Gal 3:28), in order to advance its long-standing and politically-motivated agenda.
For
the Church of Greece, however, Moscow also created and published a list
of metropolises in Greece that can and cannot be visited by Russian
pilgrims. The Church of Russia announced that they would monitor the
situation and update this list if additional metropolitans from the
Church of Greece concelebrated with OCU hierarchs. In effect, Moscow,
according to its own judgment, wishes to determine where the Holy Spirit
dwells and fills. It is as if the Holy Spirit is a
robotic commodity that can be contained and distributed only where
Moscow mandates. This, like many of Moscow’s ecclesiastical actions,
betray a lack of Christian philanthropia and spiritual maturity.
Another
example to highlight this point is the Church of Russia’s approach
towards Mount Athos, specifically the Russian-speaking Monastery of St.
Panteleimon (which, ironically in this context, means “all-merciful”).
According to Moscow, the only Athonite monastery that has the grace of
God, the only Athonite monastery where the Holy Spirit dwells and fills
is St. Panteleimon. Not because they have a different presiding bishop
(all monasteries on the Holy Mountain, including St. Panteleimon,
commemorate the name of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew), not because
they practice a different faith or have different liturgical customs,
but because, wait for it … they are Russian! Whatever happened to the
timeless words of St. Paul that there is neither Jew nor Greek (cf. Gal 3:28)?
What
is the root problem of the current division? Is it a matter of
Christian faith? No. Of Orthodox dogma, perhaps? No, again. There is one
agenda here and it is the Russian World one. It is no surprise
that almost all intra-Orthodox disagreements have a common denominator:
the desire of Moscow to undermine Constantinople, directly or by proxy,
and supplant it as the First Throne of Orthodoxy. And for this, if we
are to be sincere, primates and hierarchs from all local churches, to a
greater or lesser extent, bear some responsibility.
A multi-generational problem
The
primary challenge to contemporary Church unity is not as a result of
Constantinople’s decision vis-à-vis Ukraine. The fallout from the
creation of the OCU is symptomatic of a larger, multi-generational
problem. The problem is Moscow’s ecclesiastical approaches which are not
firmly rooted in the good soil (cf. Luke 8:8) of the Church’s history,
canons, and pastoral care for its flock. The question is: what kind of
Orthodoxy do primates and hierarchs want? Do they prefer the Church be
governed synodality, according to the holy canons, with the proper
ecclesiastical order? Or do they prefer fleeting and narrow national
interests, bullying tactics and, if we are to be sincere, the discreet
disbursement of significant financial sums to determine Church
decisions.
Consider,
for a moment, how Moscow grants autocephaly whenever and wherever its
interests are served: the establishment of the Orthodox Church in
America is especially instructive here. Not only were the clergymen who
comprised the OCA’s predecessor, the Metropolia, non-canonical up until
the day Moscow decided to bestow autocephaly to it (without any
canonical basis or prerogative to do so), Moscow has maintained multiple
ecclesiastical bodies in the United States to the present day. This
includes the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, which has had its
own questions of canonical legitimacy in recent decades (making the
vociferous accusations against the Phanar from its clergymen that much
more ironic).
Consider, as well, Moscow establishing autonomous churches throughout the oecumene.
Preferring not to celebrate the Divine Liturgy with other Orthodox
clergy, but instead employing Russian embassies and consulates as places
of worship. Establishing parishes in other local churches under the
banner of ‘Moscow Representation’ – even in Turkey – because while there
may be no Jew or Greek, there certainly is Russian!
More recently, His Beatitude Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia of Georgia wrote to Patriarch Kirill with concerns about the invasion of Moscow onto the canonical territory of the Church of Georgia.
This and other types of related actions have been repeated many times
over many decades; if we are to be sincere, this is the standard
operating procedure for Moscow.
In 2017, for example, I wrote “Crete, Korea, and the Future of Orthodoxy” in Huffington Post
about how the Orthodox Metropolis of Korea (under the jurisdiction of
the Ecumenical Patriarchate) was a canary in the coal mine. I described
in detail how Moscow’s expansionist tendencies were destroying the unity
of the Orthodox faithful in the Korean Peninsula and that hierarchs
should intervene to ensure the continuation of the proper canonical
order there. (Metropolitan Ambrosios of Korea has written extensively
about the non-canonical and disturbing actions of Moscow in Korea.)
And
when others – be it local churches or individual clergymen – do not toe
the political line, not only does Moscow hasten to weaponize the Holy
Eucharist, they systematically employ the threat and execution of
excommunication to both intimidate and bully dissidents and denigrate
the opinion and outlook of others. Rev. Dr. Nicholas Denysenko has
written extensively on how the Moscow Patriarchate has used
excommunication as a coercive tactic to remove critics and diminish
their credibility.
A
case study from Estonia is especially instructive here. Following the
Ecumenical Patriarchate’s reestablishment of the Autonomous Orthodox
Church of Estonia in 1996, Moscow immediately suspended eight priests
and one deacon, labeling them as schismatics. Not because of an
egregious canonical error or apostasy, but because they preferred to
employ their God-given freedom to be under the canonical jurisdiction of
Constantinople.
Before
a formal agreement to re-establish communion between Constantinople and
Moscow, the latter agreed to revoke the ecclesiastical penalties
against the nine individuals. Does this not make a mockery of canonical
punishment? Is this not one of many examples where the Church of Russia
attempts to determine who has the grace of God and when they have it; in
other words, where the Holy Spirit dwells and fills?
A
final, related point on Estonia: following Constantinople’s 1996
decision, the Russian Parliament passed legislation to place burdensome
financial sanctions on the Estonian government in retaliation – one
example in a long list of the Moscow Patriarchate relying on and
leveraging the Kremlin to advance its own, and indeed a common, Russian World agenda.
Showing its true face to the world
The
steely resolve and Job-like patience of Ecumenical Patriarch
Bartholomew to, after more than one hundred years, bring canonical order
to the historic Orthodox country of Ukraine and its God-fearing
faithful, has disturbed Moscow’s mandate and showed the world the true face of Russia.
The
recognition of the OCU has also brought to light what many Orthodox
hierarchs and observers of the Church have known for a long time: the
Moscow Patriarchate’s modus operandi often involves bullying,
threats and outright fabrications. But there is no need to believe this
author, bishops from the Ancient Patriarchate of Alexandria as well as
the Church of Greece have publicly confirmed these tactics.
During
the extraordinary meeting of the Church of Greece hierarchy in October,
for instance, bishop after bishop outlined in precision and with
concrete examples the intimidating tactics, threats of punishment, and
options for blackmail methodically planned and executed by Russian
clergymen, including senior bishops such as Metropolitan Hilarion of
Volokolamsk.
(As
it relates to Metropolitan Hilarion, he travels from one local church
to another leveraging Moscow’s financial clout and deploying the
aforementioned tactics, making a mockery of Orthodox synodality in the
process and especially taking advantage of some of the ancient
patriarchates who find themselves in tenuous situations.)
However,
hierarchs from around the world are now beginning to speak out, they
are beginning to challenge the norm of accepting Russia’s actions
because they are often not aligned with the proper ecclesiastical phronema (mindset).
It
is therefore insincere when Patriarch Kirill and Metropolitan Hilarion
speak about the dangers of papism, arguing that: “Our Church [Moscow]
does not strive for power at the pan-Orthodox level. We only wish to
preserve the canonical order and we cannot allow that a likeness of
papism, a ‘quasi-papism’, should emerge in Orthodoxy.” It is a
well-known tactic to vociferously accuse opponents, without any merit,
of tactics employed by oneself.
Kirill’s words are again a reminder of Matthew 23:3, because while the patriarch’s words may be wise, his actions betray his works.
There are many examples to support this point, the most egregious being
Moscow’s underhandedness vis-à-vis the Holy and Great Council in Crete
in 2016. In February I wrote:
Many are now calling for dialogue and the need for pan-Orthodox synodality to solve the issue of Ukraine; the pretense of virtue here knows no bounds. When Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew made concession after concession, mostly to Moscow, in order to realize the Holy and Great Council, it was not enough. When Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew agreed to have the autocephaly agenda item removed from the Council’s agenda, when he agreed to shorten the length of the Council, and when he agreed to move the location of the Council, it was not enough.
Let us briefly examine the words and works
of His All-Holiness, not only as they relate to the Holy and Great
Council, which alone speak volume, but his initiation and organization
of six Synaxis of Primates since being enthroned Ecumenical Patriarch in
1991. Both of these initiatives, and many other related ones emanating
from the Phanar, are the exact opposite of Moscow’s baseless charges of
“papism.”
“Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt…” (Col 4:6)
Where does Orthodoxy go from here and how can the unity of the Church be ensured?
While
the contribution and opinion of lay people – and even most Orthodox
clergy – are important, the time has come for the Holy Synod of each
local church to publicly speak out against the long standing practices
of the Moscow Patriarchate.
It
is time for primates and hierarchs to do the right thing. To follow the
Ecumenical Councils, the well-established canonical and pastoral
tradition of the Church that have been handed down from the Apostles to
the Church Fathers and now to present-day bishops.
Primates
and hierarchs will resolve the current stalemate if they follow the
commandments of Christ – by loving one another, even their enemies (cf.
Matthew 5:44)! By exemplifying Christian compassion and genuine mercy.
Moscow
may be boxing themselves into a corner, which could help to explain its
increasing reliance on extreme and zealous language focusing on “evil”.
This in turn has created a group of fanatical Orthodox, particularly on
social media, obsessed, not with love and forgiveness, but with schism,
heresy and damnation.
Compare
this to the language coming out of the Phanar and the homilies of His
All-Holiness, which are based on and characterized by love and unity.
There is no malice. No revenge nor retribution. Despite repeated
personal attacks and countless character assassinations, there is the
Ecumenical Patriarch, at every Divine Liturgy, commemorating and praying
for Patriarch Kirill. Is this not the calling of a Christian? Let the
reader consider it for themselves.
During
its Patronal Feast last month, the Holy and Sacred Synod of the
Ecumenical Patriarchate decided to officially enter Elder Sophrony of
Essex into the catalogue of Saints of the Orthodox Church. The
Christ-centred teachings of this holy Russian-born ascetic of the
twentieth-century, who was wholly devoted to the Lord, could serve as a
blueprint for understanding and reconciliation.
If all parties involved focus on Church unity, if their works are consistent with their words, then they will put self-interest aside and make room for the Holy Spirit, Who indeed dwell in all places and fill all things, leading primates and hierarchs to the knowledge of His truth.
—
Evagelos Sotiropoulos is the Editor of The Ecumenical Patriarchate and Ukraine Autocephaly: Historical, Canonical, and Pastoral Perspectives published by the Order of Saint Andrew the Apostle.
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