by Emilios Polygenis
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew gave a negative response to the appeal of the Patriarch of Antioch for a gathering of Primates on the issue of Ukraine.
In particular, the Holy Synod of the Patriarchate of Antioch had appealed to the Ecumenical Patriarch, so that the Primates gather for the issue of assignment of autocephaly to Ukraine.
Indeed, Archbishop of the Church of Antioch, Patriarch Ioannis, sent a personal letter to the Ecumenical Patriarch for dialogue and gathering of the Primates.
The Department of External Affairs of the Patriarchate of Moscow published in Russian the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew’s answer to the Patriarch of Antioch Ioannis.
In this letter, Ecumenical Patriarch clearly states that such a meeting should be avoided in interorthodox level.
Furthermore, Bartholomew believes that such a meeting would be “useless” because the participants shall agree on their disagreement.
Moreover, Patriarch Bartholomew mentions that the Great Church of Christ has as its sole purpose the unity of the Ukrainian people and acted so as to terminate the divisions, and bring the millions of faithful people back to the real Church’s arms.
The Ecumenical Patriarch concludes, for once more, that Autocephaly was granted to Ukraine according to the tradition and the rules, as was the case with other newly established Autocephalous Churches, for which no gathering of Primates took place to discuss about them.
