A Publication of the ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN LAITY
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| Volume 6 Number 24 - Tuesday, June 15th, 2004 |
A Publication of the ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN LAITY |
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The Orthodox Christian News Service |
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Patriarch Asks for Forgiveness
BOSTON -
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomaios, in a surprise
move on Monday June 7, asked for a pardon from the
three newly elected Metropolitans—Anthimos of
Thessalonica, Chrysostomos of Elefteroupolis and
Pavlos of Kozani—and from everybody who was hurt
by the ten-month dispute between the Phanar and
the Church of Greece. Before asking for the pardon, Bartholomaios convened the Holy Synod of the Phanar on Friday, June 4, in its broaden form of 41 hierarchs from many parts of the world. The Synod agreed to lift the Eucharistic suspension of Archbishop Christodoulos and to recognize the elections and ordinations of the three new Metropolitans of Thessalonica, Elefteroupolis and Kozani, out of extreme leniency. Also, the Synod, in which our own Archbishop Demetrios of America participated, decided to impose three conditions on the three newly elected hierarchs: to have them ask for forgiveness in writing from the Mother Church; to travel to the Phanar in order to register their faithfulness and dedication to the Ecumenical Patriarchate; and to assure the Patriarch that they will commemorate his name “as their Archbishop and Patriarch” during the Sacred Services, including the Divine Liturgy. The Patriarchal Synod expressed its satisfaction with the decision of the Holy Synod of Greece to respect the Patriarchal Code of 1850 (Tomos) and the Praxis of 1928. The National Herald has learned that a small group of hierarchs headed by Metropolitan Chrysostomos expressed doubts as to the implementation of the agreement between the Patriarch and Christodoulos, noting that the above mentioned actions required of the three new Metropolitans were not included in the agreement worked out by Minister of Education Marietta Yiannakou. After the Patriarchal Synod’s official announcement on Friday, June 4, the government expressed its strong disappointment with the Patriarch for not honoring the initial agreement. The Herald has learned that Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis directed Minister Yiannakou to communicate with the Patriarch to find a way to straighten things out. The Patriarch finally agreed to let go of the requirements he added to the agreement. “In light of the unwillingness of the three Metropolitans of Thessalonica, Elefteroupolis and Kozani to express their genuine desire to receive the forgiveness of the Mother Church, a position that threatens to rekindle the crisis between the two Churches, which nobody wants to see happen. I ask personally, as their Patriarch, to be pardoned by them and by all whom we caused sorrowfulness in exercising our duty and we wish them to have a good pastorate,” Bartholomaios told the Athenian Press Agency in Constantinople on Monday June 7. Shortly after the Patriarch’s statement, Christodoulos released his own: “The Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Church of Greece open a new chapter in their relations, for the future of Orthodoxy and Hellenism. “In climacteric times, what must prevail in all of us is to place the essentials above the unessential, the significant above the insignificant, the important above the unimportant. His All Holiness the Ecumenical Patriarch, together with my humbleness, overcame the trial of the relations of our two Churches. We overcame it with love, pardon, prudence and bravery.” Minister Yiannakou expressed the satisfaction of the Greek government. “I feel most happy that His All Holiness and His Beatitude, with their prudent stance have ended a crisis which would have had consequences for the Church and our Nation. The two pylons of Orthodoxy displayed their good example.
“The government,
in the framework of the legality, contributed to
diffusing the crisis. We anticipate the close and
undivided cooperation of the two Prelates.” |
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