Having received no benefit from previous attempts to convene a pan-Orthodox council to divide Orthodoxy, to condemn Patriarch Bartholomew for his decision to grant a Tomos of autocephaly to the OCU, Russian GRU agents are trying to find other ways to undermine Ukraine. Enemy assets suggest using any major pan-Orthodox event to convey the pro-Russian point of view to various hierarchies.
For example, the Ruscists suggested using the commemoration of St. Paraskeva’s Day in Iasi Cathedral (Romania) on October 14 as an opportunity to “deliver the signals and theses that Russia needs.” More than 200,000 people attended the celebrations on the occasion of the holiday, and the service was attended by Metropolitan Daniel of Aksum (Church of Alexandria), Bishop Kais of Erzurum (Church of Antioch) and Metropolitan Andrew of Arkalochori (Church of Hellas). It should be noted that the Russian Orthodox Church unilaterally severed ties with the Churches of Hellas and Alexandria. However, the Russian Federation is convinced that “even a single, but intelligent and talented, hierarch-emissary from the Russian Orthodox Church can make full use of the situation of direct communication with three dozen bishops of a particular Local Church.”
Such malign effort in favor of the Kremlin was labeled a “mini-Amman”. Let us emphasize that the previous Amman meetings, which were organized by the Kremlin in the hope of harming the OCU and the Phanar, failed miserably.
However, the war party in the Russian Orthodox Church is outraged and irritated, and does not want to back down, seeking to continue aggressive actions, split Orthodoxy, and invade other Local Churches. Instead, the top leaders of the Russian Orthodox Church do not push through this radical concept of the division of Orthodoxy, which is not viable and yields no results. On the contrary, the Russian Orthodox Church is currently preparing for a truce and reducing the level of rhetoric. And along with this, normal communication between Ecumenical Orthodoxy bypassing the Russian Orthodox Church is returning.
The event that recently wrapped up in Greece testifies to the failure of the Russian Orthodox Church’s plans and the unity of Orthodoxy. An international conference dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Theologia magazine was held there, which was attended by almost all Orthodox Churches. There were heads of the Churches of Alexandria, Cyprus, and Albania, as well as the Ecumenical Patriarch. There were also representatives of the clergy from churches unfriendly to the Phanar: the Antioch Patriarchate, the Jerusalem Patriarchate, and the Serbian Church. In addition, hierarchs from the Romanian and Bulgarian, Georgian, and Polish Churches took part in the conference.
That is, the Ecumenical Patriarchate manages to do what Kirill (Gundyaev) cannot do: to gather all Local Churches for its events, to preserve the unity of Orthodoxy, which the Russian Orthodox Church wanted to divide over the granting of a Tomos to the OCU. But the Russian Orthodox Church are unable to convene almost anyone, except Serbs and the Jerusalem Patriarchate, for their notorious “Amman” meeting. Therefore, the radicals now come to all-Orthodox celebrations where many local churches are present, trying to sow confusion and divide people into pro-Russian and adequate ones.
With all that, some hot heads are asking the Russian Orthodox Church about the fate of the document “On the distortion of the Orthodox teaching about the Church in the actions of the hierarchy of the Patriarchate of Constantinople and the speeches of its representatives.” That is, despite the failed Amman meetings and initiatives, radicals from the Russian Orthodox Church promote their line of further division of Orthodoxy and say things that seem out of this world at this time. They want to organize their conferences and round tables with the aim of condemning Patriarch Bartholomew for giving a Tomos of autocephaly to the OCU. Of course, none of the Churches will agree to this.
On the contrary, all hierarchs co-serve with the Ecumenical Patriarch. Even the greatest friends of Muscovites attend the events along his side: the Serbian, Antioch, and Jerusalem Churches. It seems that for the Russian Orthodox Church, the battle against the Tomos for Ukraine is lost. The Ecumenical Patriarch did not lose his positions and retained the support of global Orthodoxy. Despite all the efforts of the Russian Orthodox Church, the unity of the Orthodox world remains strong. This is due to the fact that the majority of Orthodox Churches do not share the radical point of view pursued by the Russian Orthodox Church and do not wish to create a split.
Spiritual Front of Ukraine
