Constantinople faces a parade of sovereignties
The latest decisions by the Patriarchate of Constantinople, which lifted the anathema imposed by the Russian Orthodox Church on the head of the “Kyiv Patriarchate” and declared Ukraine its canonical territory , will lead to hostility towards Constantinople on the part of other churches.
This opinion was expressed in a comment to Kommersant by the head of the Center for the Study of Problems of Religion and Society at the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Roman Lunkin.
“According to Bartholomew, the Kiev Metropolis allegedly erroneously belonged to Moscow for more than 300 years. However, in the eyes of the Russian Orthodox Church, the annexation of territory is already a reason to make a split in world Orthodoxy a reality,” Lunkin noted.
“The opinion of the Russian Orthodox Church and UOC, as well as other churches that supported the position of Patriarch Kirill, was ignored. Constantinople considered it possible to unilaterally revise church borders,” he added.
The expert believes that the actions of Constantinople could have unpleasant consequences for the Ecumenical Patriarch.
“Bartholomew may face hostility and competition from the Russian Orthodox Church and other churches in its canonical territory - Turkey, Western Europe, the Middle East and the United States. The actions of Constantinople may also provoke an Orthodox parade of sovereignties - South Ossetia, Abkhazia, Montenegro, Macedonia, and African countries may demand tomos for themselves. The collapse of other patriarchates will begin, the entire Orthodox world will be shaken,” Lunkin warns.
Constantinople faces a parade of sovereignties.