How Greeks do not share dioceses: will Phanar quarrel with Hellas?

On November 21, 2021, the head of the Phanar, Patriarch Bartholomew, celebrated the 30th anniversary of his ascension to the Throne of the Patriarchate of Constantinople in Athens, together with the Primate of the Church of Greece, Archbishop Jerome. This visit might have been overlooked but for the circumstances that indicate that Greek unity is in danger. It is about the confrontation between the Phanar and Hellas. What allows us to make such an assumption? A number of facts, which we will talk about in the article.

"New Lands" – old problems

The relations between Patriarch Bartholomew and Archbishop Jerome are rather complicated at the moment. They are aggravated by the dissatisfaction of many metropolitans of the Church of Greece with the actions of the Phanar in relation to a number of issues. In the first place among them is the dispute over the dioceses, which formally are part of the Greek Orthodox Church but are also related to the Phanar. We are talking about the so-called dioceses of "New Lands".

The problem arose after a part of Greece gained independence and the Church of Greece was formed in 1850. It was this Church that the dioceses of the Patriarchate of Constantinople in the south of modern Greece joined. These are the territories of Epirus, Macedonia, Thrace and the islands in the northern part of the Aegean Sea. In fact, they have a double subordination – to the Patriarchate of Constantinople and the Church of Greece. This subordination is regulated by certain agreements reached between the Churches in 1928, according to which the bishops participate in the work of the Holy Synod of the GOC.

In the Statute of the Church of Greece in 1969, the provision on the subordination of these sees to the Patriarch of Constantinople was excluded, which caused criticism from the Phanar, which has since taken measures to restore and establish its authority over them. The Phanariots are especially unhappy with the fact that the bishops of the "New Lands" are elected and ordained by the Synod and, accordingly, by the hierarchs of the Church of Greece.

The Phanar believes that no reassignment of the clergy belonging to the indicated dioceses is possible without the consent of Patriarch Bartholomew. On the contrary, the Church of Greece is certain that it goes about internal reassignments in the "New Lands", but in no way about reassignments in general. For example, if the Metropolitan of Adrianople is appointed to the See of Greven, the consent of Patriarch Bartholomew is required, and if he is transferred to the See of Serres, the decision of the Synod of the GOC is sufficient. Whatever it is, the problem of the relationship between the Patriarchate of Constantinople and the Church of Greece remains in a rather active phase and can lead to a variety of consequences.

The Phanar believes that no reassignments of the clergy belonging to the dioceses of the "New Lands" is possible without the consent of Patriarch Bartholomew.

For example, on April 30, 2004, Patriarch Bartholomew, on the basis of the decision of the Synod of the Church of Constantinople, broke off Eucharistic communion and stopped remembering Archbishop Christodoulos of Athens and All Greece (the predecessor of Archbishop Jerome). According to Met. Nikephoros of Kykkos, the breakup of relations occurred "for the only reason – the ever-memorable Archbishop dared to convene a Council of the Hierarchy of the Church of Greece, at which three new metropolitans were elected in the diocese of the so-called" New Lands "without Patriarch’s approval".

Moreover, which is already characteristic of the Phanar, among the accusations by the patriarch against Archbishop Christodoulos there were reproaches of his "conspiracy" with the Russians to weaken the influence of the Phanar. Then, in 2004, a month later the situation was resolved – an agreement between the Patriarchate of Constantinople and the GOC was reached on the terms of the Phanar.

On August 29, 2015, the situation became aggravated again – the hierarchs of the "New Lands" participated in the Synaxis of the hierarchs of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, which provoked a protest from the Greek Church followed by a refusal to participate in the Meeting of the Primates of Local Churches in Chambesy. And now – a new round of confrontation.

Where does Hellas end and Phanar begin?

It all started in March last year, when Patriarch Bartholomew, in a letter to Archbishop Jerome, raised the issue of the agreements of 1928, which, in the Phanar’s interpretation, boil down to the fact that "New Lands" are the possession of the Patriarchate of Constantinople.

On March 26, 2020 (immediately after receiving a letter from Patriarch Bartholomew) Archbishop Jerome met with the Prime Minister of Greece Kyriakos Mitsotakis. The meeting was so hasty that it was reported that “the archbishop's goal was to inform the Prime Minister of what was about to happen”, that is, about impending problems in relations with the Phanar.

It is very likely that Archbishop Jerome tried to enlist the support of Mitsotakis in his confrontation with Patriarch Bartholomew. Recall that the relations between the Patriarchate of Constantinople and the Church of Greece are prescribed by the laws of Greece, therefore the position of the authorities on the issue of "clash of interests" is extremely important. It is possible that in exchange for the support of the authorities, Archbishop Jerome promised to back all state initiatives, such as closing churches for Easter, promoting quarantine measures and vaccinations, etc. Eventually, he received support, as we will see later.

The Patriarch's letter was read to the members of the Synod of the GOC at its last meeting in August 2020, at the same time the actions of the Phanar representative, Metropolitan Emmanuel of Chalcedon, were discussed. And there was something to discuss.

So, on August 20, during a divine service in the monastery of St. Nicholas in the Greven diocese (included in the "New Lands"), Metropolitan Emmanuel stated that this monastery, like the entire settlement on the territory of which it is located, is directly connected with the patriarchate since it is "a continuation of the Phanar metochia and the patriarchal Church". At the same time, Emmanuel said that neither the local metropolitan nor anyone else "has the slightest jurisdiction over the monastery, except for the Ecumenical Patriarch himself".

Naturally, this position of the Phanariots caused outrage among the Greek hierarchy. The fact is that the words of the Metropolitan of Chalcedon completely contradict what the Church of Greece recognizes. The latter believes that the administration of individual monasteries does not differ from the administration of the rest of the monasteries operating on its territory.

According to media reports, many Greek hierarchs are convinced that if the words of Metropolitan Emmanuel are not given importance, then the "New Lands" will become the second Crete, that is, they will be completely controlled by the Phanar, which will create additional problems for the Greek Orthodox Church.

For example, in November 2019, the Synod of the Patriarchate of Constantinople elected bishops of two patriarchal metochia in Crete. We are talking about Irenaeus (Vericaxis), who became Bishop of Eumenia, and Damascus (Leonakis), who became Bishop of Dorylaeum. Both are vicars of Patriarch Bartholomew, both were not included in the clergy of the Cretan Church, but as rectors of the stauropegia fall under the jurisdiction of the Phanar. As a result, in the city of Chania, for example, there are three bishops – all canonical, all Greeks and all belong to different jurisdictions. For the Church of Greece, such a situation is nonsense. However, the Phanar wants to reproduce it for other dioceses that are formally part of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. That is why the Greek synodals demand that Archbishop Jerome take decisive steps to somehow resolve the current situation. One of these steps should have been the transfer of the metropolitan from the "New Lands" to the Peristerian See, which would confirm the rights of the Church of Greece to these dioceses. And this decision was to run counter to the fifth clause of the 1928 agreement, which specifies how the metropolises of the New Lands are staffed. In particular, it says that "it is forbidden to carry out hierarchical transfers from a diocese to a diocese".

The first round of confrontation

In order to consolidate this decision and push Archbishop Jerome to take more decisive actions, the synodals took a desperate step – they invited Patriarch Bartholomew to Greece. You may ask why it is desperate? The fact is that they invited the head of the Phanar on a certain day.

In particular, on September 10, 2021, the Holy Synod of the Greek Orthodox Church, in one of its final meetings, decided to hold celebrations in Greece on October 22, 2021, on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the ascension of the head of the Phanar to the Patriarchal Throne. The synodals invited the "hero of the occasion" to these events. And this invitation would have looked respectful towards the Primate of the Mother Church (which the Greeks consider the Patriarchate of Constantinople), if not for one "but" – on October 22, Patriarch Bartholomew planned a visit to the United States (which took place on October 23), which had been announced long before the Synod of the GOC took place. It is quite understandable that Patriarch Bartholomew refused the Athen events. In other words, the synodals of the GOC invited Bartholomew to Greece when he absolutely could not come. It’s no more and no less than an illustration of Aesop's fable "The Fox and the Crane".

The synodals of the Greek Church invited Bartholomew to Greece when he absolutely could not come.

In turn, Archbishop Jerome also took some steps to put the Phanariots "in place". In addition to the agreement with the authorities, who are considered the guarantor of the 1928 agreement, he ousted from the See of Athens his preacher, Archimandrite Chrysostomos (Koulouriotis), who concelebrated with Metropolitan Emmanuel in the Monastery of St. Nicholas, and did not react in any way to the words of the latter that the monastery belongs to the Phanar.

The same Archimandrite Chrysostomos is also the abbot of the Monastery of St. Paraskeva in Megara (42 km. from Athens), the status of which is still controversial because it is not clear who it belongs to – Patriarch Bartholomew or the Archbishop of Athens. Therefore, the expulsion of the archimandrite from the Cathedral of Athens should have been a signal for the Phanar that the head of the GOC is resolute.

So, let's put the available data together.

Patriarch Bartholomew writes a letter in which he says that "New Lands" are his territory. Archbishop Jerome visits Mitsotakis with this letter to gain support in the event of a confrontation with the Phanar. Metropolitan Emmanuel, during a divine service in one of the monasteries located in the "New Lands", declares that this is a stauropegion of the Patriarch and belongs exclusively to him. In response, Archbishop Jerome reads a letter from Patriarch Bartholomew to the Synodal members. Those, in turn, demand from the archbishop to confirm his authority in relation to the "New Lands", in particular, through the reassignment of one of the metropolitans from these dioceses to the See of Peristeri (a suburban municipality in the northwestern part of the Athens agglomeration with a population of 140,000 people). The synodals express their dissatisfaction with the Phanariots’ moves by inviting Patriarch Bartholomew to Greece just at the time when he should be in the United States. At the same time, Archbishop Jerome expels from Athens his preacher, Archimandrite Chrysostomos, who concelebrated with Metropolitan Emmanuel. And it seemed that the next logical step on the part of the Greek Church should have been the appointment of one of the hierarchs subordinate to the Phanar to the See of Peristeri. But ... Archbishop Jerome did not dare to take this step at the last moment and proposed his associate Archimandrite Gregory (Papathomas) to the position. The reason is clear – pressure from the Patriarchate of Constantinople and its "friends". But the problem is not over. This is what Patriarch Bartholomew is going to solve in Athens on November 21 when he nevertheless arrives in Greece (in a month!) to celebrate his 30th anniversary of patriarchal ministry.

What can await us in this case?

Which will have the upper hand: the Phanar or GOC?

Of course, the most realistic scenario is that Archbishop Jerome will most likely lack the determination to "go all the way". And even serious government support cannot be decisive. And there is no doubt that there is such support.

For example, Minister of Education and Religions Niki Kerameгs, Deputy Foreign Minister Miltiadis Varvitsiotis, and Peristeri Mayor Andreas Pahaturidis attended the consecration of the new Metropolitan of Peristeri at the Cathedral of Athens. Agree that the presence of such high-rank officials at the ordination of the metropolitan of the suburb of Athens (albeit with a population of 140,000) speaks volumes. At the very least, it serves as a signal to the Phanar that the state is ready for negotiations. But what they will be like depends on Archbishop Jerome and Patriarch Bartholomew.

Therefore, it can be quite confidently assumed that the Phanar head will arrive in Athens to attempt to solve the new/old problem "on the spot". There are several options for this solution.

Firstly, the Patriarch can enlist the support of the U.S. Department of State (it may be one of the reasons, among other things, to visit the USA?) to make the Greeks yield and gain complete control over the "New Lands".

Secondly, if the Greeks still stand their ground, the head of the Phanar may threaten to break the Eucharistic communion. The precedent has already occurred.

Thirdly, they can agree with Archbishop Jerome on "mutually beneficial" terms about the affiliation of the "New Lands".

What these terms might be, we do not know. But it is quite possible that Patriarch Bartholomew will agree to some concessions regarding the "Lands" in exchange for a more active position of the Greek Church in relation to the OCU.

It is no secret that recently this project has openly stalled, and, to a large extent, because of the "sluggish" position of the Church of Greece.

For example, on the 1033rd anniversary of the Baptism of Rus’ celebrated in Kyiv, the head of the OCU, Epiphany Dumenko, received congratulations from the Primates of the Churches of Constantinople, Alexandria and Cyprus, but not from the Primate of the Church of Greece. In addition, until now, none of the hierarchs of the GOC (except Metropolitan John of Lagkadas who died of coronavirus) has concelebrated with the Ukrainian schismatics. But two years have passed since the recognition. If we add to this that within the hierarchy of the Church of Greece there is a rather tough opposition to the recognition of Ukrainian schismatics, and the people of Greece are also opposed to this, then the situation is very difficult for the Phanar in this regard. So, there is an opportunity for Patriarch Bartholomew to try to solve it through the “New Lands” issue.

However, if he fails to reach an agreement with the Greeks, it will be not so much about the loss of stauropegia but about the loss of authority and respect on the part of the schismatics. The representatives of the OCU will very quickly understand that one can speak with the Phanar in the language of ultimatums and will begin to put forward their demands to him. For example, to give them the diaspora, which Patriarch Bartholomew "privatized" with just one line of the Tomos. That is why, in his last interview with the Cypriot edition ‘Politis’, Patriarch Bartholomew talks so much about upholding the “rights” and “privileges” of the Phanar. Because he knows that his position is becoming more precarious every day.