Ahead of the visit by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople to Mount Athos, one of the centers of the Eastern Orthodox monasticism, sprayed slogans against him have appeared in one of the monasteries, Romfea news agency reported on Thursday
ATHENS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 17th October, 2019) Ahead of the visit by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople to Mount Athos, one of the centers of the Eastern Orthodox monasticism, sprayed slogans against him have appeared in one of the monasteries, Romfea news agency reported on Thursday.Patriarch Bartholomew has become a controversial figure within the Eastern Orthodox Church following his decision to hand over the tomos of autocephaly the right of a church to govern itself without reporting to a higher-ranking cleric to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate (UOC-KP).
He is set to visit Mount Athos on October 19-22.
The agency has received photo evidence from pilgrims that illustrates the reaction some Mount Athos' residents gave to Bartholomew's upcoming visit.
"Out from the Holy Mountain, Bartholomew, who rips apart the Church of Christ," an inscription on a wall near the monastery of Iveron reads.
"Bartholomew the Antichrist, the Holy Mountain does not want you here," another one reads.
On Saturday, the Synod of the Hierarchy of the Church of Greece became the first Orthodox church to recognize Constantinople's decision to give the UOC-KP the tomos of autocephaly.
The Moscow Patriarchate has described the situation as the "legalization of schism," stressing that it would have catastrophic consequences and affect millions of Christians in Ukraine and other countries.
