ATHENS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 04th November, 2019) Archbishop Chrysostomos II of Cyprus said on Sunday that he was not going to commemorate "any new primates" and did not agree with the Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, but also disagreed with the decision of the Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia to stop the prayer commemoration of Archbishop Ieronymos II of Athens and All Greece after the latter had recognized schismatic Orthodox Church of Ukraine and its self-styled primate Epiphanius.
Earlier in the day, Patriarch Kirill did not mention Archbishop Ieronymos II among the primates of the local Orthodox churches at the Divine Liturgy in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior.
"I consider the position of the Moscow Patriarch unacceptable. We do not stop commemorating another primate because we do not agree with his position. Only if someone becomes a heretic, we stop communicating with him. And I know that neither the Ecumenical Patriarch nor the Archbishop Of Athens are heretics. This, of course, does not mean that I agree with them," Chrysostomos II said after the Sunday liturgy, as quoted by the Phileleftheros newspaper.
The archbishop noted that he and several other church leaders were attempting to organize a meeting to find a way out of this situation.
"Neither the Ecumenical [Patriarch] wants to meet with Moscow [Patriarch], nor the Moscow [Patriarch] wants to meet with� he Ecumenical [Patriarch]. That's why we, as the Church of Cyprus, are neutral, because we do not agree with the position of any of them and did not start commemorating any new primate," the archbishop explained.
On January 6, Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople handed over the tomos of autocephaly to the newly established Ukrainian church. The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC), along with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, refused to recognize it. 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.
On October 12, the bishops' council of the Church of Greece recognized Constantinople's decision to give the non-canonical Ukrainian church the tomos of autocephaly, becoming the first Orthodox church to do so. Additionally, the Synod of the Church of Greece granted Archbishop Ieronymos II the right to make decisions regarding the issue of autocephaly, clearing the way for the Greek church to take the next step and officially recognize the Ukrainian church. However, the decision was met with a mixed reaction even in the Church of Greece itself. There are 81 dioceses in the Greek church, but only 69 bishops were present at the council, and only 33 participated in the discussion.
On October 17, the Synod of the ROC authorized Patriarch Kirill not to commemorate Archbishop Ieronymos II at divine services, if he recognized the so-called Orthodox Church of Ukraine and its head Epiphanius and included him on the bead-roll. According to the Synod's statement, the ROC will maintain a prayer, canonical and Eucharistic communion with the Greek Orthodox Church "through all archbishops and priests who have already opposed or will continue to oppose the recognition of the Ukrainian schism, who will not stain themselves by serving with schismatic false hierarchs."
