Phanar hierarch expresses regret about the decisions taken by ROC Synod

Metropolitan Augustine (Labardakis) of Germany

Metropolitan Augustine (Labardakis) of Germany, a bishop of the Constantinople Church, expressed regret in connection with the decisions of the Synod of the ROC of September 14, 2018. In his address, posted on the site of the metropolis, the hierarch said that "the absence of the three Russian bishops of Germany at the meeting of the German Orthodox Conference (OBKD) will be no surprise".

The hierarch noted that he deeply regrets this decision and its consequences in Germany, as the Orthodox cooperation of OBKD has always been fruitful and harmonious. Metropolitan Augustine also expressed the hope that "the difficulties in inter-Orthodox relations will be overcome as soon as possible".

"These difficulties arise from the situation in Ukraine, which became independent after the collapse of the USSR," the Phanar representative said. "The Ecumenical Patriarch intervened in this situation on his own initiative, trying not only to resolve the acute issue of ecclesiastical independence, but also to help overcome the intra-church schism in Ukraine. This task is justified by his honorary primacy in Orthodoxy and, thus, means non-interference in the internal affairs of another Church, not to mention the fact that the ecclesiastic ties of Ukraine with the Mother Church in Constantinople, for centuries hindered by the Russian policy of the tsarist and soviet power, has resumed."

Also, the hierarch noted that the decision to suspend the concelebration of the bishops of the Churches has already influenced Germany, "since on the occasion of the introduction of our new Serbian bishop in Düsseldorf, our vicar Bishop Arianza was asked not to concelebrate because of the presence of two Russian bishops".

Metropolitan Augustin stressed that for the first time in 50 years of episcopal ministry faced such an alarming situation.

Earlier, the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church decided that His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia will cease commemorating His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople during the Divine Liturgy.

On September 7, the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople appointed Archbishop Daniel of Pamphilon (the U.S) and Bishop Hilarion of Edmonton (Canada) as its exarchs in Kiev "within the framework of the preparations for the granting of autocephaly to the Orthodox Church in Ukraine". 

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