Vartholomeos Proposes Meeting to Christodoulos
October 6, 2003 by Greek News
Filed under Greece
Constantinople
Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomeos sent a letter to Archbishop of Athens and All Greece proposing a meeting in Istanbul on Oct. 10 or Oct 24, to discuss the issue of the election of bishops and metropolitans in regions of Greece, based on a 1928 decree of the Holy See.
The Patriarch proposed that the “meet and discuss in our home here (Istanbul),” explaining in the letter that “we believe that the place and the time are the most proper in light of the work with the upcoming Holy Synod of the Greek Orthodox Church meeting,” and the prior engagements in Brussels.
In that same letter Vartholomeos reiterated that the Ecumenical Patriarchate “does not cause problems or divisions and does not raise demands, as it is presented, rather it simply wishes for the respect and maintenance of the ecclesiastical and canonical decisions”.
In a letter to Parliament Speaker Apostolos Kaklamanis on Friday, Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomeos warned that an emerging crisis in relations between the Patriarchate and the Church of Greece could have serious consequences for the Greek people and the Greek nation.
The Patriarch’s letter was delivered to Kaklamanis by Pergamus Metropolitan Ioannis, who briefed Kaklamanis on the latest developments on the issue and the correspondence between Phanar and the Autocephalous Church of Greece.
A Parliament announcement released later in the day expressed hope that the crisis would be overcome, ”both for the good of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, which is the head of Orthodoxy, and of the Greek Church”.
According to an ANA dispatch from the seat of the Patriarchate in Fanar, Istanbul, meanwhile, some high-ranking prelates of the Greek Church disagree with the stance adopted by Athens Archbishop Christodoulos in his confrontation with the Patriarchate over the ecclesiastical administration of the so-called ”New Lands” – territories ceded to the ‘stewardship’ of the Church of Greece in 1928.
These are comprised of the bishoprics of northern Greece, as well as the northern and eastern Aegean. Northern Greece and the eastern Aegean islands became Greek territory after 1912-13.
The dispute erupted after the death of Thessaloniki Metropolitan Panteleimon II during the summer, when the Patriarchate demanded to view a list of potential candidates for the vacant seat.
