HOLY AND GREAT COUNCIL DOCUMENT

Draft Synodical Document

Τετάρτη 17 Οκτωβρίου 2018

SERGEI CHAPNIN: WAR OF PATRIARCHS. HOW THE RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH CRASHED IN UKRAINE



Why does Patriarch Cyril fight for the church in Ukraine? Her loss is a blow to the concept of the “Church of the Empire,” which he developed after the fall of the USSR. Until recently, it was hard not to agree that the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) is the largest and richest, but it could not be converted into diplomatic victories over the Greeks.


In 2018, the word of the year will be the word "autocephaly," which is incomprehensible and difficult to pronounce. Just six months ago, only specialists in church history and canon law knew about it. Even ordinary parishioners of Orthodox churches were not interested in the problems of church organization.
In the news the word “autocephaly” began to appear frequently after April 2018, when President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko asked her for the Orthodox church in his country. And immediately a conflict arose. It is connected with the fact that Poroshenko appealed not to the Patriarch Cyril of Moscow and All Russia, to whom the Church in Ukraine was subordinate, but to the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, in whose jurisdiction the Church on these lands was 300 years ago. And Patriarch Bartholomew soon confirmed that he had the right to return the Ukrainian Church under his administration and give her autocephaly.
Autocephalous in Greek means “self-heading,” that is, self-government, the independence of the local church. There are 14 Autocephalous Orthodox Churches in the world today. But it is possible that in a few months the Ukrainian Orthodox Church will receive a tomos, and the autocephalous Churches will be 15.
The actions of the Ecumenical Patriarch caused constant criticism and indignation from the Russian Church, which continues to consider Ukraine its canonical territory. But Patriarch Bartholomew completely ignored the position of Moscow and in mid-October made decisions that make autocephaly irreversible: he abolished the subordination of the Ukrainian dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church and returned from the split two non-canonical groups - the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate and the “old” Ukrainian Autocephalous Church.
To say that Patriarch Cyril was not happy was to say nothing. On October 15, he held a synod meeting in Minsk, at which an extremely harsh statement was made: “The current act of the Constantinople Patriarchate is an attempt to steal something that never belonged to it.”
But the problem is that Patriarch Cyril has no leverage to influence the situation. After the start of the war in the Donbas, Patriarch Cyril in Ukraine is a persona non grata, and he cannot directly turn to Petro Poroshenko. Church law is on the side of Patriarch Bartholomew. It is extremely difficult for Patriarch Cyril to appeal to the other Orthodox Churches, since two years ago, at the last moment, he refused to go to the Pan-Orthodox Council, in fact, he proved incapable. Now the situation for the ROC and personally for Patriarch Cyril is rather reversed.
As a result, the Moscow Patriarch fulfilled his threats and went to the most extreme measure in church politics - the breakdown of Eucharistic communion. This means that the Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church unilaterally forbade its bishops and priests to serve in the churches of the Constantinople Patriarchate, and the laity to take communion there.
On the territory of Russia and Belarus, this decision will not affect the life of parishes and monasteries. Problems will arise when visiting Holy Mount Athos, a favorite pilgrimage site including a number of top Russian monasteries, as well as in the life of the parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church in Western Europe and America, where cooperation between parishes of different jurisdictions develops. Russian parishes may be isolated.
Strictly speaking, the decision of the Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church looks extremely doubtful from a theological point of view, since the rupture of Eucharistic communion can occur exclusively for doctrinal reasons, when some part of the church community falls into heresy and refuses to return to the Orthodox confession of faith. In the case of Ukraine, it is about breaking the Eucharistic communion for political reasons. Thus, Patriarch Cyril categorically objects to the forthcoming redistribution of territories, temples and flocks, as a result of which the Moscow Patriarchate may lose from a quarter to a third of the total number of its parishes. However, political motives are not sufficient grounds for such a radical decision: worship should not be a bargaining chip in church politics. Unfortunately,
Why is Patriarch Cyril fighting so vigorously for the church in Ukraine? Her loss is a devastating blow to the concept of the “Church of the Empire,” which he developed after the fall of the Soviet Union. Until recently, it was hard not to agree that the Russian Orthodox Church is the largest and richest, but this could not be converted into diplomatic victories over the Greeks.
If the Church in Ukraine receives autocephaly, the ROC will lose thousands of parishes and vast territory, and the Patriarchate of Constantinople will acquire them. This will lead to the collapse of the important myth of the "unbreakable and indivisible Russian Church." For many years, it was not the state but the church that claimed to be the guardian of the “idea of ​​the empire”. If the Soviet Union collapsed, and independent states emerged, the Church was preserved within the borders of the indivisible empire. She used to feel like a mega-church, ready to talk with politicians on an equal footing. But after the loss of Ukraine, the situation will change, and the ROC will have to behave more modestly. Apparently, she is not ready for this.
Source: Forbes.ru