Tensions rise between the Church of Crete, the Greek government, and the Ecumenical Patriarchate, centered on the vacant seat in the Metropolis of Kydonia and Apokoronas.
In an official statement, the Holy Eparchial Synod of the Church of Crete strongly reacted to what it described as “intervention by various institutional figures aiming to prevent the election of a specific individual” as the new Metropolitan of Kydonia and Apokoronas.
The Church criticized what it sees as direct interference from the State, following the submission of a legislative amendment to a bill from the Ministry of National Defense, which it claims includes a “clearly flawed interpretation” of the Church’s governing Charter. The Synod categorically declared the amendment “manifestly illegal and rejected by the prevailing view among legal scholars.”
According to orthodoxtimes.com, the controversy revolves around an attempt—allegedly backed by the Ecumenical Patriarchate—to abolish the canonical provision that allows for the transfer of Metropolitans (metathesi). This move is reportedly intended to prevent the election of Metropolitan Amphilochios of Kissamos, widely regarded as the most likely candidate for the seat in Kydonia.
The Holy Eparchial Synod convened last Friday in a marathon five-hour session but ultimately failed to reach a decision on the new Metropolitan. The session was marked by deep divisions and lack of consensus, particularly after an official letter from the Ecumenical Patriarchate was sent to Synod members ahead of the meeting. The letter urged caution and discouraged any decision that would involve the transfer of a metropolitan from another Metropolis.
Translated by: Konstantinos Menyktas
