The convening of a Holy or Pan-Orthodox Synod is requested by associations of theologians of Cyprus after the tension that has been created within the Church of Cyprus on the occasion of the recognition of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Ukraine by the Archbishop of Cyprus.
As the president of the Association of Theologians, Christakis Efstathiou, said in his statements to CNA, “It is sad that the Church, in such times and with such challenges, which has a role to play in many issues, brings out an image of disruption.”
“Instead of the image of the hierarchs who cultivate the ecclesiastical spirit and communicate with each other with this bond of love, which touches the deepest meaning and essence of the Church, the element of division and extermination emerges.”
He also assessed that we are in a situation where the Holy Synod must convene to consider all these issues with sensitivity, ultimately for the good of the Church but also with the aim of healing some wounds that have already been created.
For his part, George Kyriakou, president of the Pancyprian Association of Greek Theologians said that the problem cannot be solved by synodal decisions of local churches but by convening a Pan-Orthodox Synod.
As Kyriakou stated, the Holy Synod of the Church of Cyprus or any Synod of the local Church, cannot decide on an issue that concerns the whole of Orthodoxy.
The Ukrainian issue is a big matter that the Orthodox Church has suffered for many years, maybe decades and centuries, said in his statements to the Pancyprian Association of Greek Theologians the Theologian-Lawyer Theodoros Kyriakou, adding that the convening of the Holy Synod is necessary for the issue to be discussed extensively.