Archbishop Chrysostomos of Cyprus said that the fact that the Patriarch of Moscow had stopped commemorating Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens was unacceptable. After the celebration of the Divine Liturgy in the Church of St. George in Latsia, Nicosia, Archbishop Chrysostomos stated that he did not approve the stand taken by the Patriarch of Moscow.
Although the Archbishop of Cyprus criticises the actions of the Russian Patriarch, as he does not agree with them, he takes a neutral stand on the issue of the Autocephalous Church of Ukraine.
In particular, he said, “I think that the stand of the Patriarch of Moscow was unacceptable. We do not sever full communion with the Head of a Church because we simply disagree with some of the decisions taken. We sever full communion only with Churches, which become heretic. As far as I know, neither the Ecumenical Patriarch nor the Archbishop of Athens is heretic. However, this does not mean that I agree with them. We tried to help by setting up a meeting, in order to find a solution, but they did not like it. That is why we did not insist. Neither the Ecumenical Patriarch nor the Patriarch of Moscow wants to set up such a meeting. So, the Church of Cyprus decided to take a neutral stand. We do not agree with the stand taken by both sides and therefore we did commemorate none of them.”
