"To be read from the pulpit on Sunday, October 7, 2018, distributed through your parish email list serv, printed in your parish bulletin and posted on your parish website." I kept the original bold and italics.
The Very Reverend and Reverend Clergy
Honorable Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, Esteemed Members of the Metropolitan Council, Esteemed Members of the Parish Councils, Philoptochos Sisterhood, Faculty and Students of the Catechetical and Greek Afternoon Schools, Directors and Participants of all Youth Organizations, and all devout Orthodox Christians of the Greek Orthodox Communities of our Holy Metropolis of New Jersey
My Beloved in the Lord,
For the past seventeen centuries the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople has embraced all the Orthodox faithful throughout the oikoumene with faith, love, care, and pastoral sensitivity as it has aimed to ensure peace, unity, and healing throughout the Orthodox world. One of the central roles of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, is safeguarding the unity of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, the Holy Orthodox Church with which he has been entrusted by the Grace of the Holy Spirit. This is a responsibility that he accepts willingly and most seriously since this role requires sincere love, unfettered faith, strong leadership and objectiveness in making decisions. The right decision is rarely the easy decision and this holds true for the current ecclesiastical situation in Ukraine.
Since the 10th century, a vibrant Orthodox community in what is known as present day Ukraine existed and the people of this area were known as the Kievan Rus’. The Orthodox Kievan Rus’, with their ecclesiastical center being the Metropolis of Kiev, was and remains under the canonical jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. This Metropolis had been the ecclesiastical center of the local Ukrainian Church for several centuries and, even with the establishment of the Patriarchate of Moscow in 1589, the Metropolis of Kiev remained under the canonical jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. Due to exigent historical circumstances, in 1686 the Ecumenical Patriarchate granted the Patriarch of Moscow the ability to ordain the Metropolitan of Kiev providing he had the canonical permission of the Ecumenical Patriarch. The Ecumenical Patriarchate, however, would retain the right to elect the Metropolitan of Kiev who would also serve as Exarch of the Ecumenical Patriarch, and who would commemorate the Ecumenical Patriarch as “among the first” at the celebration of every Divine Liturgy and other Sacraments. The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople has never ceded jurisdictional authority of the Metropolis of Kiev and present day Ukraine to the Patriarchate of Moscow. With geopolitical changes over the last century, distrust and disunity plagued the ranks of Orthodox Christians in Ukraine to the extent that, by the mid 1990’s, there were three groups of Orthodox Christians; one group being a part of the Patriarchate of Moscow, headed by Metropolitan Onoufrios, and the other two independents (the Ukrainian schismatic “patriarchate” under Filaret, and the “autocephalous church” under Makarios). This division persists and, whereas the Ecumenical Patriarchate has prayed unceasingly that the ecclesiastical powers in Ukraine would resolve this issue internally, it has become apparent that the intervention of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, as both the Mother Church of the Ukrainian Orthodox and as the First Among Equals who safeguards Orthodox unity, is essential. It is crucial to know and comprehend this brief history of the Orthodox Church in Ukraine to understand today’s situation especially since many faithful in the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of New Jersey have been inquiring about the issue at hand, and also since there is an effort by some ecclesiastical presences in this country to misinform the Orthodox faithful concerning history and canonical correctness.
His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and the Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate desire to heal this division within the Church so that the sheep who had been lost can return to the ninety-nine, and so that our Lord may “gather together in one the children of God who were scattered abroad” (Jn. 11:52). This decision of His All-Holiness and the Holy and Sacred Synod endeavoring to correct the uncanonical situation is not being taken because it is the easy option, but because it is the difficult and necessary solution. We must acknowledge and understand that these decisions are being made in the spirit of healing, love, peace, canonical correctness in order to safeguard the unity of the ecclesial body, a challenge and responsibility entrusted to the Mother Church of Constantinople.
The Ecumenical Patriarchate my beloved faithful will grant autocephaly to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. As stated in the words of His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, “It is her right to receive the status of autocephaly and...it is the right, and indeed the exclusive right of our Ecumenical Patriarchate, to grant the autocephaly just as it was granted to all the newer Orthodox Churches, beginning with Russia in the 16th century, to the Church of Czech and Slovakia in 1998.” The Ukrainian people, all children of the Mother Church, the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, those within the fold and those who have over the decades have fallen out of it, have expressed the desire to end this division with their brothers by repeatedly petitioning for the Ecumenical Patriarchate to take the necessary steps, which would end the ecclesiastical colonialism which had been imposed on them. How could we say no to ending this or any division in the Body of Christ and restoring its unity? Our Lord is not the Lord of division, but the God of unity. He is the Lord of love. He is the Prince of peace. He is the God of mercy.
Let us continue to pray for and with our spiritual Leader and Father, His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, who for the past twenty seven years as our Ecumenical Patriarch, has and continues to do that which is right by seeking and promoting unity and peace throughout the Orthodox world. Let us pray for the Members of the Holy and Sacred Synod, one of whom I am, as we continue deliberating these pastorally sensitive issues with great care and love, and above all, faith in our Triune Lord and God. And let us pray for all the people of Ukraine who seek peace and unity in the faith, so that they all “may be one”. Further, let us pray for those who for reasons, known to them and the rest of the world, are being openly defiant. May they too see with the eyes of their soul, come to the knowledge of and acknowledge the truth, by embracing the decisions of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and His All Holiness, based of course on the centuries old historic facts and Patriarchal documents which exist. Finally, let us reiterate the prayer heard at the Divine Liturgy, “O Lord, our God...unite them to Your Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church and number them together among your elect flock.”
With Paternal Love and Blessings,
† EVANGELOS Metropolitan of New Jersey
Posts
Stunning. I am, literally, thanking God for multiple jurisdictions in the US.
ReplyDeleteI thank God Orthodoxy is not papacy.
DeleteGood to see the Ecumenical Patriarch finally sees his need to mediate conflicts **rolls eyes**.
ReplyDeleteIt would have been nice if he had actually done something when a church with a clear canonical claim to Qatar had its territory infringed upon by Jerusalem. But oh wait, that's not his role, or is it, or is it not? I am not sure with all of this double-tongedness of the EP bishops.
You cannot make peace with Schismatics via the sword of authority (beit Ecclesiastical or Political, which in this case is both) but rather through repentance.
Amen.
DeleteSeems all that time with the pope of Rome and at the Vatican might be influencing this EP toward error.
"The Orthodox Kievan Rus’, with their ecclesiastical center being the Metropolis of Kiev, was and remains under the canonical jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople." First of all, this is historical nonsense. Kievan Rus' included a wide territory and a number of principalities in present day Russia. St Vladimir himself came from Novgorod. It appears that, like Metropolitan Elpidophoros, Metropolitan Evangelos is parroting the Ukrainian nationalist talking points about how modern Ukrainians are the same as Kievan Rus' (and, by implication, modern Russians are something else- Mongols, perhaps).
ReplyDeleteSecond, this is bad grammar. "The Orthodox Kievan Rus'... was and remains..." In an official episcopal communication this is pretty shameful.
Whether the Ukrainian people of today are exactly the same as the people of Kievan Rus' is beside the point, but fits perfectly with Orthodoxy's sinful addiction to nationalism and nation-state ecclesiology. The question is whether the autocephaly granted to Moscow by the EP (and acknowledged by the rest of the Church) included the territory of Kiev, and whether the rights of the Metropolis of Kiev fled to Muscovy along with the Metropolitan of Kiev to be included in the autocephaly of the Church of Russia. Otherwise, we're simply arguing our preference for de jure and de facto rights.
DeleteWhat is also lost here is the fact that the nationalism of all sides has resulted in schism, and this schism is not just the fault of one side or the other. Russia is acting the bully (again) and Ukrainians are acting the aggrieved minority; both are placing nationalism ahead of the work of the Church. What is the real need of Moscow to maintain control over another people besides power? And over a people who believe themselves distinct from Russians and the victims of Russians - regardless of Russians' protestations (based mainly on preferring to see themselves as heirs to Kieven Rus' rather than any real desire to embrace modern Ukrainians). At the same time, what's the big deal about having autocephaly for Ukrainians? If this was an argument about Ukrainian in the Liturgy or collusion with the Russian government on matters of import, then maybe there's a case to be made. It seems to be more a function of feeling discriminated against and wanting to declare that much more independence from the bully next door, and the Church is as good a way as any to advance that independence.
Truly pathetic to see these Greek bishops in the United States sucking up to the Ecumenical Patriarchate by parroting this fake history, fake ecclesiology, fake canonicity. This issue really has nothing to do with Orthodox Christians in the Americas and, yet, it has everything to do with us. Once the Patriarch of Istanbul and All-Turkey "grants" autocephaly to the Ukraine, I'll stop attending GOA parishes and I urge others to do the same.
ReplyDeleteThe EP has been ruthless in deposing GOA bishops who cause problems. Remember that Archbishop Iakovos, undoubtedly the most prominent and well-loved American hierarch of his time, was summarily deposed for taking part in a conference to promote jurisdictional unity. Then his successor Abp Spyridon was ALSO deposed. I think it's likely that there are GOA bishops who oppose the Patriarch's moves; but they know that they'll instantly find themselves unemployed if they speak up.
ReplyDeleteAn honest question. Why are all the Patriarchates including Moscow now scrambling for a joint council to discuss the Ukrainian issue, when that was originally part of the EP's agenda for the Crete Council, before Bartholomew dropped it due to Moscow's objection??? Was is Moscow always considered the poor misjudged one while Constantinople is the big bad guy??? I mean, it seems pretty silly that everyone is screaming against the EP, when it was originally the one who wanted a joint discussion about Ukraine in the first place. Really, as I observe things, it seems like the EP is always,demonized, rightly or wrongly for acting "papal",yet, when Moscow does so, no one bats an eye.
ReplyDeleteIf only that a was the only issue on the agenda at Crete. No, this is better.
DeleteIt's a lot more complicated than that. And Antioch said from the beginning it wouldn't go for its own reasons.
DeleteThe Church is consensual, not democratic. On the only two issues that matter at this point, the process of autocephaly and the status of the diaspora Churches, the hierarchs are nowhere near any consensus. Give it another century or two. Maybe three.
It will actually be pretty hilarious when the US breaks up before anybody figures out what to do about the US Churches. Then we'll have to debate this all over again.
Totally irrelevant to actually living a Christian Life. There is an old saying: All Bishops die but Sitties live for ever.
ReplyDelete