Some not so sanguine remarks about Amman

(orthodoxia.info via Orthodox Times) - In the capital of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Amman, the attention of the puzzled global Orthodox community turns today and for one more day with a great deal of skepticism to the implementation of the Patriarch Jerusalem initiative to resolve the crisis in Orthodox Church.

Three months after his visit to Moscow where he announced his initiative to convene a Primates’ meeting, the Patriarch of Jerusalem welcomes today in Amman just three Church leaders who responded to his invitation.

Patriarchs Kirill of Moscow, Irinej of Serbia and Metropolitan Rastislav of the Czech and Slovak Orthodox Church are arriving today in Amman, which is still moving at its normal pace.

According to reports, since the organizing Church, the Patriarchate of Jerusalem has not made public the details of the meeting, the Primates will have two meetings, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. They will also have a meeting with King Abdallah.

The Meeting will be held at one of the central hotels of the Jordanian capital, Fairmont Amman.

Yesterday a large support group arrived in the country from the Russian Church which has already settled in the above hotel and the rest of the participants are expected to arrive within the day.

An Embarrassed Patriarchate

Since the day Patriarch Theophilos announced his initiative, the Patriarchate of Jerusalem has been showing an unprecedented embarrassment over the issue. It has not issued a single press release. Patriarch Theophilos himself has not taken a stance publicly on this initiative, and even the correspondence of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem with the other Churches on the subject was in English, surprising even the non-Greek-speaking Churches. Or one might think Jerusalem is trying to have an open mind about the topic and doesn't want to color opinions.

The same embarrassment was shown by the envoys of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem in Constantinople last week, and even today, as the Primates arrive in Amman, the Patriarchate of Jerusalem keeps “radio silence”.

The whole conduct of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem with regard to its own initiative seems as if it wants to “extinguish” it. It is the first time that a major body such as the Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem has taken a peace initiative and instead of promoting it, it hides it as if they are ashamed of it.

Peace did not reach Qatar

What has become particularly important in recent days is, once again, the failed attempts on the Qatari issue. At the same time that the Patriarch of Jerusalem in Amman will discuss with the three Primates who have responded to his call the issue of global upheaval within the Orthodox Church, his own Church remains in “war” with the neighboring Patriarchate of Antioch, with which, as it seems, they have not been able to surpass the problems that divide them regarding the purely Muslim Qatar. It is somewhat of a "Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye" situation.

In any case, despite its father’s apparent efforts to downgrade it, the “brotherly meeting” in Amman is one step ahead of its implementation, and now everyone is waiting to see its results.