The recent health issue of Archbishop Ieronymos once again brought to light the way in which the medical conditions of Hierarchs are managed — and the peculiar manner in which they themselves tend to approach them.
For reasons that remain unclear, many Hierarchs or the people surrounding them, with their tacit approval, seem unwilling to reveal their human side. They prefer to keep such matters away from public view.
The eagerness of those around them to portray them as strong and vigorous often reaches the point of absurdity. To some extent, this is understandable. Their livelihood depends on their superiors, so they naturally want to show them as strong.
Their position (protosyncellus, etc.) often depends on how long the Hierarch they serve remains in office. Even when the inability of these Hierarchs to attend ecclesiastical or social events is often evident.
How many still remember the obvious inability of the late Metropolitans Anthimos of Thessaloniki and Titos of Paramythia to govern, while their close circles continued to present them as fully in command?
But why this persistent concealment of health issues? Are they afraid that potential successors will start emerging like snails after the rain? After all, the would-be candidates are always at the starting line. In the end, one of them takes the lead.
In the case of the Archbishop, the hospital itself announced that he had suffered an ischemic episode, and the Ministry of Health confirmed it. Why then did the Holy Synod release a statement referring only to a “simple indisposition”?
It is perfectly natural for an 86-year-old man to experience health problems. These things are human. What exactly are all those around Archbishops, Patriarchs, and Metropolitans so desperately trying to exorcise?
Aetios: The Watchful Eye of the Phanar
The problems extend far beyond the Church of Greece. Hierarchs and clergy in the Phanar and the dioceses of the Ecumenical Throne are increasingly raising their hands in concern. In private discussions, they acknowledge that the Ecumenical Patriarch remains capable — both physically and spiritually — of governing.
However, they also concede that Bartholomew no longer maintains full control over all matters. He now focuses primarily on strategic decisions, while, as many insiders point out with growing frankness, he has effectively handed over the “keys” of the Patriarchate to his right hand, the Grand Ecclesiarch Aetios.
A combination of the Patriarch’s understandable fatigue due to age and the unprecedented trust Aetios has cultivated over the years has led to a situation where, as many observe, “the Patriarchate is governed by one man.”
“Aetios and his close circle are charting the strategy for the future. They convince the Patriarch that their proposals serve the good of the Patriarchate, while in reality they advance their own interests and plans,” admitted an elderly Metropolitan with long experience in the Phanar.
Many senior Hierarchs of the Throne, with decades of service, now feel marginalized, and they claim it is at Aetios’ demand.
Melchizedek
*Published in the newspaper “Orthodoxi Alitheia”
