
© Reuters / Huseyin AldemirGreek Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople
Patriarch Bartholomew was wrong to declare Ukraine is no longer subject to the Russian Orthodox Church as the conflict hurts the entire Orthodoxy, believes Metropolitan Kallistos, a leading bishop of the Constantinople patriarchy.
Kallistos (Timothy Ware) is an Oxford-based bishop of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and one of the most respected Orthodox theologians today. In a recent
interview with Slovo Bozhie (the word of God), a Russian Orthodox news website, he acknowledged that the escalation was initiated by Constantinople.
He is referring to the 17th century letter, which acknowledged the authority of the Russian Orthodox Church to appoint the metropolitan of Kiev, the highest bishop in Ukraine. In October, Constantinople announced it was revoking this right as part of its effort to create an independent Orthodox church in Ukraine, which would include the recognized Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which answers to Moscow, and two self-proclaimed churches that are considered schismatic by other churches.
Kallistos said that, with all due respect to Patriarch Bartholomew, he agreed with the Patriarchate of Moscow that "Ukraine belongs to the Russian Church."
"This is a fact of history that Ukraine has belonged to the Russian Church. I believe therefore, it has been a mistake for the Ecumenical Patriarch to give autocephaly to the two schismatic bishops - Philaret and Makary," he said, referring to the leaders of the two unrecognized churches in Ukraine. The same decision of Constantinople in October declared them legitimate priests in defiance of Moscow's position to the contrary.
Comment: The Left is all about being tolerant, except when they are dealing with someone from the Right. Unfortunately for Mika, her employer MSNBC tried but failed to censor her homophobic slur. She is also missing from today's Morning Joe segment, which MSNBC has called a "planned absence" but which really looks like a PR move to let the furor over her comments die down until the news cycle moves on.