Panorthodox Synod : COMMUNIQUE ON THE PETITION OF APPEAL BY CLERGYMEN FROM LITHUANIA

Panorthodox Synod : COMMUNIQUE ON THE PETITION OF APPEAL BY CLERGYMEN ...:   Οικουμενικόν Πατριαρχείον Ἀνακοινωθέν περί τῆς ἐκκλήτου προσφυγῆς κληρικῶν ἐκ Λιθουανίας It was ascertained that several clerics were uncanonically deposed by the Patriarchate of Moscow.

Bulgarian Hierarch Concelebrates With Metropolitan Emmanuel

On 26 December 2021,His Eminence Metropolitan Kiprian of Stara Zagora (Patriarchate of Bulgaria) concelebrated the Divine Liturgy of the Sunday After Christmas with His Eminence Elder Metropolitan Emmanuel of Chalcedon (Ecumenical Patriarchate) and His Grace Bishop Adrianos of Halikarnassos (Ecumenical Patriarchate),who oversees the District of Phanar-Keratios Gulf,at the Church of St.Stephen in Balat,Istanbul.Also serving was the Very Reverend Archimandrite Charalambos Nichev,pastor of the Bulgarian Community in Constantinople.* The liturgy was attended by several dignataries,including the Consul General of Bulgaria in Istanbul,His Excellency Vassil P. Valchev;President of the Bulgarian Community,Mr.Vasil Liaze;as well as pilgrims from Bulgaria and members of the Bulgarian language Community in Constantinople.Consul General Valchev read a message from the President of Bulgaria,His Excellency Rumen Radev.* Analysis:Possibly the Bulgarian concelebration will irritate the Patriarchate of Moscow,which has severed communion with the Ecumenical Patriarchate over the granting of autocephaly (independence) to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine on 5 January 2019.*

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew to Concelebrate with Archbishop of Cyprus

On 8 March 2020,His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew will concelebrate the Divine Liturgy for the first Sunday of Lent,the Sunday of Orthodoxy,with His Beatitude Archbishop Chrysostomos II of New Justiniana and All Cyprus at the Patriarchal Church of St.George in the Phanar,the Patriarchal compound in Constantinople.It will be the first time they have concelebrated since the Ecumenical Patriarchate bestowed autocephaly on the Orthodox Church of Ukraine,and,indeed,the first time Archbishop Chrysostomos has met with Patriarch Bartholomew at all since that proclamation.*
Patriarch Bartholomew will also celebrate Great Vespers on 7 March at the Church of St.George.*
Analysis:The visit of Archbishop Chrysostomos and his concelebration with Patriarch Bartholomew shows that the Church of Cyprus is intent on maintaining its close ties with the Ecumenical Patriarchate,unlike the Patriarchate of Moscow.*
Archbishop Chrysostomos recently had liver cancer surgery in the US state of Florida.*

Ukraine:Metropolitan Alexander Leaves Moscow Patriarchate for New Church

On 19 December 2018,old calendar St.Nicholas Day,His Eminence Metropolitan Alexander (Drabinko) of Pereyaslav-Khmelnitsky announced he was leaving the Moscow Patriarchate for the new Orthodox Church of Ukraine.The faithful in the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Cathedral applauded his statement:
Today,for the first time during the liturgy,I commemorated the Ecumenical Patriarch and His Beatitude the Metropolitan of Kiyiv Epifaniy,but unfortunately some of the parishoners and clerics did not accept my admission to the OCU,and therefore left the temple;but I hope they will return.*
Metropolitan Alexander was one of the two Moscow Patriarchate Metropolitans who attended the Unifying Council in Kyiv on 15 December.The other was Metropolitan Simeon of Vinnytsia.On 18 December,the cathedral parish council ruled that Metropolitan Alexander had the right to serve in the cathedral and remain its rector.
The Moscow Patriarchate convened a synod to depose and prohibit from serving Metropolitans Alexander and Simeon.

Ukrainian Orthodox Church Reunited to Constantinople,Restored to Communion - but the process continues

His Eminence Metropolitan Emmanuel of France,flanked by the Ecumenical Patriarchate's two exarchs to Ukraine,Archbishop Daniel of Pamphilon and Bishop Ilarion of Edmonton,read a press release today in the Phanar,the Patriarchate of Constantinople's compound in Istanbul,Turkey.It said that,by decree of the Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate,the Patriarchate,the Mother Church,has been reunited with the two schismatic Ukrainian Orthodox groups.Their hierarchy and faithful have been restored to canonical status and readmitted to communion with the Orthodox Church.*
In addition,the Patriarchate has re-established its metochion,or representative church,in the Ukrainian capital Kiev,which had customarily existed there and in other major Ukrainian cities;while the agreement that,by the exercising of ekonomia,had allowed the Patriarchate of Moscow to ordain the Metropolitan of Kiev,has been canceled.
All concerned were admonished to behave in a peaceful,non-confrontational manner.
The decision to grant autocephaly,or independence,was reaffirmed;yet,as His Eminence Metropolitan Arsenios of Hungary noted,the actual granting of a Tomos of Autocephaly has been postponed until the appropriate time.*
Analysis:The aspiring Church must now hold an assembly and elect a primate,someone who can receive such an important document as a Tomos of Autocephaly.