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Greek Mediation Won’t Unite Orthodox in Ukraine, Say UOC-KP

29.03.2006, [19:24] // UOC-KP //

Kyiv – Greek Orthodox Archbishop Christodoulos of Athens has been asked to visit Ukraine. But representatives of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kyivan Patriarchate (UOC-KP) think such a visit would increase, not solve, the problems of Orthodox unity in Ukraine. cerkva.info posted the news on 27 March 2006.

Valerii Tsybukh, Ukraine’s ambassador in Athens, went to Greece in late February to ask Archbishop Christodoulos to be a mediator in the existing church problems in Ukraine. Tsybukh gave the invitation of Metropolitan Volodymyr (Sabodan), head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP), to Archbishop Christodoulos to pay an official visit to Ukraine, considering that this visit might have a positive effect on the unification of the Orthodox church. But representatives of the UOC-KP are convinced that this visit would not solve the problem but only escalate it, because of the opposition between Archbishop Christodoulos and Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople regarding administration in post-Soviet countries.

In May 2005 Patriarch Filaret (Denysenko), head of the UOC-KP, ordained Archimandrite Chrysostomos (Bakomitros), as bishop of southern Ukrainian Khersones. Bishop Chrysostomos established the Exarchate of the UOC-KP in Athens and plans to register it in the future. Since independence in 1991, thousands of Ukrainians have traveled to Greece in search of work.

The UOC-MP reacted immediately to this ordination by asking the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece to begin the process of excommunication of Bishop Chrysostomos. In fact, the Holy Synod conducted an investigation according to findings sent to the Metropolis of Peristerion, which caused the indignation of the Ukrainian Embassy.

Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko requested that the Patriarchate of Constantinople participate in the investigation. As a result, it appointed a committee, consisting of Archimandrite Elpidophoros (Lambriniadis), chief-secretary of the Holy Synod, and Archimandrite Athenagoras (Chrysan).

The committee negotiated both with the UOC-MP and the UOC-KP. Therefore, the representatives of the UOC-KP are convinced that the visit of Archbishop Christodoulos to Ukraine may be dangerous because it will not only aggravate the problem but may also cause new tensions between Athens and the Patriarchate of Constantinople.

According to cerkva.info, Archbishop Christodoulos created a “holy union” with Russian Orthodox Patriarch Alexis II to remove Patriarch Bartholomew I from the world arena.

Sources and previous related RISU news:

• http://www.cerkva.info/index.php?newsid=1143472176

• http://www.cerkva.info/index.php?newsid=1143312682

• http://www.risu.org.ua/eng/news/article;9663/