The Russian Orthodox Church stopped a Eucharistic communion with Archbishop Leronymos II of Greece, due to his recognition of the schismatic Orthodox Church of Ukraine.
In late October, Archbishop Ieronymos II officially acknowledged the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.
“This means that we stop the Eucharist communion with the Archbishop of Athens, but this does not mean that we stop communion with the whole Greek church. We will continue to maintain fellowship with all those bishops who do not recognise the Ukranian schism, and there are such in the Greek church,” said Metropolitan Hilarion.
“We already predicted our reaction in the decision of the second Synod meeting in October…we said that if the Archbishop of Athens officially recognises the Ukranian schism, then his name will be deleted from the Russian Orthodox Church’s bead-roll,” the Metropolitan said.
The Moscow Patriarchate described the situation as the “legalization of schism,” stressing that it would have catastrophic consequences and affect millions of Christians in Ukraine and other countries.
On October 12, the Synod of the Hierarchy of the Church of Greece became the first Orthodox church to recognise Constantinople’s decision to give the non-canonical Ukrainian church the tomos of autocephaly.
Additionally, the Synod granted Archbishop Leronymos II the right to make decisions regarding the issue of autocephaly, clearing the way for the Greek church to take the next step and officially recognise the Ukranian church.
