Pat. Bartholomew: We Will Not Renounce the Privilege of Our Primacy

ISTANBUL — In an interview with French television, Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople declared that his status among the primates of other Local Churches is that of “first without equals,” and that the Phanar will never abandon it.

According to him:

“The primacy of Constantinople is not simply a prestigious title. The Ecumenical Patriarchate has certain prerogatives, certain powers, if I may put it that way. And it has exercised these prerogatives as the first see of the Church throughout the centuries, helping and serving the sister Churches."

The Patriarch stressed that neither he nor his successors will renounce the primacy which “was granted to us by the Ecumenical Council and by the practice of church life over the centuries.”

“The fact is that the Patriarch of Constantinople enjoys certain privileges which no other primate possesses. In this sense, he is the first without equals. These privileges belong to the Ecumenical Patriarch alone,” Patriarch Bartholomew emphasized.

At the same time, he assured that “neither my predecessors nor I myself have ever used them to impose our will and opinion upon other Churches.”

“But we have used these privileges to help other Churches in their daily life, especially when they faced difficulties. It has always been a primacy of service, not of power,” he stated.

Earlier, UOJ reported that Patriarch Bartholomew does not intend to revoke the Tomos of autocephaly granted to the OCU.

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