Russia’s officials and agents of influence meet several times a month with the head of the Jerusalem Patriarchate, Patriarch Theophilos, apparently to slow down the process of recognition of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine by the Jerusalem Church.
On January 31, 2022, Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem received at his residence the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the State of Israel, Anatoly Viktorov, with whom he had already met on January 11. The meeting was also attended by the Secretary of the Russian Spiritual Mission (RSM) in Jerusalem, Abbot Nikon (Golovko) and RSM Treasurer Hieromonk Athanasios (Bukin).
“The meeting stressed the need to continue work on maintaining a Christian presence in the Holy Land, ensuring the inviolability of Orthodox religious sites, and safety of Christian believers. The counterproductive nature of any attempts to change the interfaith status quo in Israel, including in the Old City of Jerusalem, was also emphasized,” the website of the Russian Spiritual Mission in Jerusalem reported.
The Russian ambassador reiterated Russia’s commitment to protecting the interests of Christians in the Middle East.
According to the ROC, special attention was paid to topical issues of the international agenda.
It should be recalled that the ROC has been helping the Jerusalem Patriarchate to build a new temple. Meanwhile, Russia has been using the Patriarch of Jerusalem as a tool to oppose the Ecumenical Patriarch. To this end, Patriarch Theophilos in February 2021, possibly being pressured by Moscow, called for a re-run of the non-canonical Amman meeting, although last year’s “Amman” failed, which was recognized even by Russian experts.
In mid-June 2021, Russian Ambassador Viktorov and FSB envoys had already met with the Patriarch of Jerusalem. After that, Russian experts spoke again about the Amman 2.0 meeting’s prospects. Later, similar meetings took place on July 22, 2021, September 15, 2021, and January 11, 2022.
Religious expert Oleksandr Yefremenko spoke about the activities of the Russian Orthodox Church regarding the Jerusalem Patriarchate. The SFU also explained why the ROC was concerned about the “threat to Christians” in Jerusalem. The patriarch himself believes that there is a real threat Christians are facing in the Holy Land.
According to Metropolitan Epifaniy, the issue of recognition of the OCU is being considered by the Jerusalem Orthodox Church. On November 29, 2021, the Patriarch of Jerusalem visited the Primate of the Hellenic Church, which had already recognized the OCU.
On January 29, 2022, Patriarch Theophilos spoke ambiguously about the forthcoming meeting of Orthodox leaders: “I was very inspired by the willingness of the leaders to meet.” He noted that such a meeting will take place in the coming months. Earlier, he called for prayers for “an end to divisions and restoration of unity.”
