“You are not and we are not going to leave you alone,” the Archbishop Chrysostomos of Cyprus told the Ecumenical Patriarch during the celebration of the Patriarchal Co-liturgy at the Patriarchal Church of Saint George at the Phanar.
A few days after the primate’s gathering in Amman, where they challenged the privileges of the Ecumenical Throne, the Archbishop of Cyprus emphasised, “Nothing can be challenged. If we look back into the past, there is no Church, which did not benefit from the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. In addition, it is the Ecumenical Patriarchate that established the new Churches. It is ignorance to say something different.” “The Ecumenical Throne of Constantinople is canonically responsible for life. You, the Ecumenical Patriarch, are the one who makes many sacrifices and bears the heavy Cross of all responsibilities of the Orthodox world,” he added.
Moreover, the Archbishop of Cyprus also referred to the discussions about a new collaboration between Orthodox Churches in order to preserve unity. He said, “Had we not had a First in the Orthodox Church, we would search for one. We do have a First, but there is equality. The Orthodox Church has chosen him.”
In addition, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew referred to the matter of the autocephaly of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. He said, “Any opposition to the matter of the autocephaly of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine is not canonical. However, there are some who intend to harm the newly-established Orthodox Church of Ukraine with the aim of creating a secular institution, which, on the one hand, will be operating in contrast with Church principles and tradition and, on the other hand, it will be serving foreign interests in clear contradiction with Orthodox ecclesiology and the synodical character of the Orthodox Church.
Patriarch Bartholomew made it clear that the decision to grant autocephaly to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine “brought to light the canonical responsibility of the Ecumenical Throne and gave prominence to the canonical decisions taken at the Ecumenical Synods” and that “it is a long time since they have been applied.” “The recognition of the autocephaly of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine from the other Orthodox Churches is the basic precondition for achieving unity with the Orthodox world,” he concluded.
