“Bartholomew is furious. We are close to losing another opportunity” – Ukrainian expert
With the provision of a tomos of autocephaly for Ukraine from the Patriarchate of Constantinople, everything is still very bad for the Ukrainian authorities.
Analyst of the “Ukrainian Institute of the Future” Igor Tyshkevich comes to this conclusion in his blog, assessing the results of yesterday’s Synod of the Patriarchate of Constantinople.
“In short, things are very bad with our churchmen! They didn't even agree on the charter. There is one line in the press release that translates “in anticipation of the release of the Synodal Tomos, a charter (constitutional charter) of the Ukrainian church was prepared. Thus, the Greeks began to write the charter. The fact that Bartholomew is furious is an understatement. A representative of the Synod did not even come to the press - they simply handed out a press release,” writes Tyshkevich.
He draws attention to the paradox of the situation, which lies in the fact that there is the desire of Patriarch Bartholomew, who went into conflict with many churches, the consent of the President of Turkey and the request of Kyiv.
“But at the last moment, due to the debate “who is in charge and who will bring TomAs”, we are close to losing another opportunity. Considering the interest of the Pope [Poroshenko] in the process, I would put pressure on our clergy. Even 200 years ago, the issue was resolved with hands clamped in the doorframe to a bright future. But now there are different morals and different methods... In a word, we have screwed ourselves a little,” the expert comes to the conclusion.
However, he further writes that “everything is not so bad”, since “the train from the Russian Orthodox Church has already left”
“In the worst case, Bartholomew will simply create an exarchate, without the participation of both Macarius and Philaret. And if they complain, they will go to the most remote monastery on the blessed Mount Athos. After all, they are formally priests of the Patriarchate of Constantinople and there will be no one to lift the second anathema (if it comes to that).
But there is also a positive thing - Bartholomew, it seems, has not lost hope of creating a local Ukrainian church. That's why he's messing around. He is a Greek with a Turkish passport. And at this time our positions (non-existent) are divided and they are thinking about how to jump in the elections. If it doesn’t work out, there will be an exarchate or a metropolitanate. Perhaps even for the better!”, Tyshkevich believes.
As PolitNavigator reported, the Synod of the Patriarchate of Constantinople couldn't make an appointment for December holding the so-called “unification council” in Ukraine.
Read also: Grandpa Filaret buries the autocephalous project of the Phanar.
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