Phanar believes Pat. Bartholomew to be a “master and leader” of the Church
Phanar is sure that the Patriarch of Constantinople is the guardian of unity and faith in the Orthodox Church.
On January 20, 2020, on behalf of Patriarch Bartholomew, Metropolitan Apostol (Daniilidis) sent a letter to Metropolitan Michael (Dandar) of Prague and the Czech Lands stating that the Patriarch of Constantinople is a “master and leader” of the Church, as reported by Parlamentnilisty.cz publication.
The representative of Phanar rebuked Metropolitan Michael of disobeying the decisions of the Patriarchate of Constantinople and stated that in the “Unified, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Orthodox Church ... the ministrator and leader is defined by the holy canons and the martyrdom, and consecrated by the practice and Tradition of the Church as the First – Archbishop of Constantinople and New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch."
According to Metropolitan Apostol, the Patriarch of Constantinople is also a “faithful guardian of unity and faith," since he "for centuries has taken under the protection of the wings of the Ecumenical Patriarchate those living not only in the Thracian, Pontic and Asian dioceses, but also outside the borders of other Orthodox Churches, "among the barbarian peoples" (" ἐν τοῖς Βαρβαρικοῖς") into one single and indivisible church reality."
Earlier, the UOJ wrote that Phanar threatened Metropolitan Michael of Prague and the Czech Lands for disobeying the decisions of the Patriarchate of Constantinople with "strict intervention".
