Posted on 05/27/2014 1:24:39 PM PDT by NYer
A leading official of the Russian Orthodox Church said that Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I represented only his own Patriarchate of Constantinople, and not the world’s other Orthodox churches, in his meeting with Pope Francis, according to a report from the Religious Information Service of Ukraine.
Metropolitan Hilarion, the chairman of the Russian Orthodox Church’s Department of External Church Relations, said that the Ecumenical Patriarch had not consulted with the leaders of other Orthodox churches before meeting with the Pope, according to the report.
The Ecumenical Patriarch holds a primacy of honor among the Orthodox churches, the largest of which is the Russian Orthodox Church.
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Ping!
Spy vs. spy? Collective vs. collective.
Thanks for posting, NYer. Very interesting.
How much is this “the Russian Church” and how much is Putin?
If he's consenting to be a tool of Putin, I would be very disappointed. But not surprised: that's a fairly typical position of Russian hierarchs before the Russia State: prone. And he may not have many option to exercise "independent judgment" at this point.
Between the agenda driven media and Russia's already known standard of telling the world what Russia wants it to know, we have NO way of knowing the truth.
And, who cares anyway?
My husband and I visited Russia in 2008. His comment: "Russia still had a long, long, l-o-n-g way to go to catch up to the West."
Couple of things. First, the Ecumenical patriarch is not an “Eastern pope”. He cannot dictate anything to other patriarchs, even though his voice certainly counts for much.
Second, it is generally true that the Moscow Patriarchate Church (that is the official church in Russia) is in unhealthy symbiosis with the Kremlin, just like they were since 1927. However, with the recent Putin’s adventures in Crimea and Eastern Ukraine, Patriarch Kirill was rather noticeably uneasy; he was absent at some important Putin’s speeches and never went beyond the general pleas for peace. It is normal in Orthodoxy in the event of war between Orthodox nations, for each hierarch to offer prayer for his side wishing them victory; Kirill did not do that. So Kirill may not be as much a tool of Putin as people thought back in 2012.
And thirdly, Russia was always solidly anti-Catholic, since the Polish invasion of 1612, and because of John Paul II’s role in the West’s victory in the Cold War — which, we know, is viewed in RF as the greatest catastrophe ever to befall man.
Interesting perspective. Thank you.
Metropolitan Hilarion, the chairman of the Russian Orthodox Church’s Department of External Church Relations, said that the Ecumenical Patriarch had not consulted with the leaders of other Orthodox churches before meeting with the Pope, according to the report. The Ecumenical Patriarch holds a primacy of honor among the Orthodox churches, the largest of which is the Russian Orthodox Church.
PFL
I am curios as to why the “Defacto Leader of the Calvinist Brigades” is interested in Catholic and Orthodox dialogue and in this case, Russian Orthodoxy in essence taking a shot at the Patriarch of Constantinople.
Care to share with us Catholics your thoughts on the Pope and Patriarch’s Meeting and the Russian Orthodox Church’s views on that meeting.
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