LAST UPDATED MAY 21, 2024, 08:46
By Efi Efthimiou
Metropolitan Antonios of Volokolamsk inaugurated a Russian church in Limassol, with the “blessings” of the local Metropolitan Athanasios.
In fact, the two hierarchs concelebrated the Divine Liturgy on the Sunday of the Myrrhbearers, when the inauguration of the Church of St. Nicholas in Limassol took place, which – according to the Department for External Church Relations of the Russian Church – belongs to the Moscow Patriarchate.
They were also concelebrated by Metropolitan Timotheos of Bostra, Exarch of the Holy Sepulchre in Cyprus, who has not hidden his pro-Russian stance.
The questions that arise are many.
The Patriarchate of Moscow has severed communication with the Church of Cyprus following the recognition of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine by the late Archbishop Chrysostomos II of Cyprus.
It raises questions about the co-liturgy performed by the two hierarchs, as well as questions about whether Archbishop George of Cyprus was aware (the Patriarch of Moscow had already given his “blessing” for this visit of the Russian delegation, as we are informed on his official website).
As members of the Church of Cyprus report on orthodoxtimes.com, the estate on which the church was built was granted for the needs of the numerous Russian-speaking flock living in the Limassol district, already in the days of the late Archbishop of Cyprus, Chrysostomos I, and the late Metropolitan of Limassol, Chrysanthos.
According to information provided to OrthodoxTimes.com, despite pressure to designate the new church as a metochion of the Russian Church, the Holy Synod of the Church of Cyprus rejected this proposal. Instead, they decided that the church would be spiritually and administratively subordinate to the local Metropolis of Limassol.
According to the same information, it is estimated that for this reason Metropolitan Athanasios of Limassol was present at the sanctification rite and concelebrated the Divine Liturgy with Antony of Volokolamsk, in order to be considered that everything is done on the basis of an earlier decision of the Synod and that he has the “control” of what took place.
The question that arises concerns whether Archbishop George of Cyprus and, therefore, the Holy Synod of the Church of Cyprus, were informed about the arrival of the delegation of the Russian Church for the inauguration of the church as well as about the co-liturgy that took place.
Also, since he took office, Metropolitan Kirill of Volokolamsk, as the official representative of Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, has visited most Orthodox Churches and met with their Primates.
But he has not visited Archbishop George.
His predecessor, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, who is now the Metropolitan of Budapest and Hungary, in the context of the preliminary meeting of the World Council of Churches that took place in May 2022, he visited the then Archbishop Chrysostomos II and attended a luncheon with him, despite the fact that the Patriarchate of Moscow had severed communion with the Archbishop.
However, the Metropolis of Limassol has not published any announcement or press release explaining what happened on Sunday, May 19, at the Church of St. Nicholas. It is noteworthy that, on the one hand, on the same day a children’s festival took place in the Limassol Public Garden about which there is an article on the website of the Metropolis.
On the other hand, the website of the DECR, which is chaired by Metropolitan Volokolamsk, informed its readers that “the sanctification of the Russian church of St. Nicholas in Limassol” took place.
According to mospat.ru, after the end of the Divine Liturgy, Metropolitan Athanasios of Limassol expressed his satisfaction with the successful completion of “the multi-year construction work of the church dedicated to St. Nicholas.”
The Metropolitan also expressed his deep gratitude to Patriarch Kirill of Moscow for his continued interest in this construction and for sending a high-ranking delegation led by the DECR chairman for the sanctification rite.
Also, according to the same sources, “the Metropolitan of Limassol expressed confidence that the newly built church will unite believers of different nationalities and contribute to the strengthening of the unity of Orthodoxy.”
The Metropolitan of Limassol had been against the decision of the late Archbishop Chrysostomos of Cyprus to recognize the autocephalous Orthodox Church of Ukraine, despite the fact that his decision often brought him into conflict with the former Primate of the Church of Cyprus.
Athanasios was a candidate for the Archdiocesan throne in Cyprus during the elections held in December 2022, in which Archbishop George was elected finally Archbishop.
Photo: mospat.ru
