Choosing Sides in the Church Wars

Op-Ed

The planned conspiracy has failed. The majority of the Orthodox Christian Church leaders did not attend the meeting initiated and organized by Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem. Of the fifteen invitees, only Patriarch Kirill l of Moscow, Serbian Patriarch Irinej and Rastislav, Metropolitan of the Czech Lands and Slovakia attended the meeting in Amman. The representatives of the Romanian and Polish churches attended, instead of the high-ranking officials, making it look more like a desire to outwardly fulfil an obligation than a demonstration of support for the plan and issues which were to be discussed at the meeting on February 20. Russian Patriarch Kirill said the meeting could have solved many crucial issues.

Theophilos III is considered to be the formal initiator of the meeting in Amman. He met with Patriarch Kirill and President Putin in Moscow last November, where he announced the initiative of said assembly. The Patriarch of Jerusalem said that the Orthodox world should discuss solving the issues of the existing division and eradication of its causes. By division he meant the issue of granting autocephaly to Ukraine and the controversy between Moscow and Constantinople. Based on the issues he raised, it is obvious who stood behind this in reality. Patriarch Kirill ’s plan for the assembly in Amman was to finally form a coalition, to unite forces and oppose the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, eventually resulting in him being “dismissed” from leading the Orthodox Churches of the world. This is why Georgian Patriarch Ilia II did not travel to the meeting and did not send any representatives either, once again showing whose side the Georgian Church takes in this dispute.

When Bartholomew I signed the tomos of autocephaly of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, Patriarch Kirill terminated all relations with Constantinople and began planning a revolt against him with the help of other churches. The first church that Moscow tried to win over was the Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria. Metropolitan Hilarion had visited Patriarch Theodore II a few times already, but the endeavor proved futile. In autumn last year, the Church of Alexandria recognized the Ukrainian autocephaly. The Russian Church made attempts to win over the Georgian Church too, with Metropolitan Hilarion travelling with this mission to Tbilisi, but this attempt also failed. Although the Georgian Church hasn’t recognized the Ukrainian autocephaly yet, it is clear that it is not going to operate under Patriarch Kirill’s “umbrella”. Today, there are 15 Orthodox Churches in the world and only three, the Bulgarian, Serbian and Jerusalem churches, have succumbed to the Russian influence so far. The supporters of Bartholomew I have also divided into two camps, the first who support the autocephaly of Ukraine and those who haven’t officially recognized it yet. The Georgian Church is currently in the latter, together with Romania, Albania, Poland, Czech-Slovakia and Antioch. To date, Ukraine’s autocephaly has been recognized by Elide, Cyprus, Alexandria and Constantinople.

The fiasco of the meeting in Amman has further raised red flags for Moscow, as in the issue about Ukraine, the Russian Church found itself in the minority. Not only will Moscow lose a parish of almost 30 million people, which is a great financial loss as it annually fills the Russian coffers, but it also kicked off rumors about the possible dismissal of Patriarch Kirill. In 2023, the latter will turn 75, and while the Russian canonical laws suggest that the Patriarch is chosen for a lifetime, at the age of 75 he can address the holy Synod with a request of resignation. It is this law that gives us grounds to think that the clock is ticking for Patriarch Kirill: if he is unable to achieve anything within the coming three years, Putin will have him removed from the Russian Church, especially since he already has a competitor in Putin's personal priest, Metropolitan Tikhon.

By Zaza Jgarkava

Russian Patriarch Kirril. Image Source: Alexander Avilov / Moskva news Agency