The West controls a group of bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church who are supporters of the US-oriented Patriarchate of Constantinople. With their help, in the fall they can cause a schism by overthrowing Patriarch Irenaeus - removing him from the leadership of the SOC.
The Belgrade publication Informer reports this, citing its own sources. The interlocutors shared concerns about the upcoming autumn Council of the SOC.
All this fits into a single scenario - the day before NATO General Hodges openly stated the need to reduce the influence of the Serbian Church as a conductor of Russian interests in the Balkans, and the Montenegrin authorities are provoking the seizure of property of the SOC and the creation there of their own “autocephaly” according to the Ukrainian model.
The “Southern Current” within the SOC has very close relations with the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. We have seen the recent statement by former NATO General Hodges, who directly interferes in the internal relations between Orthodox Churches, and all this points to a geopolitical background of pressure on the SOC. NATO does not want to give up its intention to govern the Serbian Church, which Patriarch Irenaeus strongly resists, including speaking out against the split in Ukraine. And this angers NATO supporter Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople. An overthrow attempt would have caused enormous pressure on the Patriarch, after which he would have been convinced to retire because he allegedly had health problems,” says a source from the Alo newspaper.
This information does not surprise religious analyst Zeljka Injac:
“The choice of Patriarch Irenaeus was a compromise solution in the clash of clans in the SOC. His main asset was his age. Everyone believed that he would not be Patriarch for a long time, and that they would soon be given the opportunity to redistribute forces within the Church due to the election of a new leader. However, according to the popular saying: “Man speculates, God determines,” the Patriarch is alive, well and prudent, and he has no plans to die soon.”
The analyst emphasizes that Irenaeus, together with the Holy Synod, actually respects only the canons of the Church and does not allow the influence of foreigners and NATO lobbyists in the SOC, and, according to Inyats, this could cost him dearly.
“The support provided to the Russian Church corresponds to respect for the canons and structure of the Church, which Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople clearly violated, which represents a precedent with serious consequences for Orthodoxy as a whole. And one of these bishops from the “southern current” publicly spoke out as a Constantinople NATO lobbyist, a person who disputes the canonical autocephaly of the SOC and supports the non-Christian theory of evolution. He, along with some frivolous, or perhaps even frightened bishops and their mentors from the cities of Cetinje and Trebinje, essentially want power in the SOC and the overthrow of Patriarch Irenaeus, whose position is restrained and reasonable,” the expert said.
Let us recall that Patriarch Irinej is known for his support of President Aleksandar Vucic and his decisions, including on the Kosovo issue. Their frequent meetings confirm this fact.
At the end of the spring Council of the SOC, it was announced that this year the archbishops would certainly meet in the fall, and that then they would deal mainly with personnel issues.