Met. Anthony Outlines Potential Motives Behind Pat. Bartholomew’s Actions in Ukraine

Patriarchs Kirill and Bartholomew. Photo: Phanar Press Service

MOSCOW — In a recent interview on the program Church and the World, Met. Anthony of Volokolamsk identified what he described as three key motives that guided Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in establishing the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU).

According to Met. Anthony, the first motive was external pressure. He said Pat. Bartholomew "was under strong influence from certain handlers,” adding that connections between the Phanar and U.S. intelligence services date back to the time of Pat. Athenagoras, who was brought to Istanbul on President Truman’s plane.

The second motive, he said, was personal resentment following the absence of several Local Churches — including the Russian Orthodox Church — from the Crete Council organized by Pat. Bartholomew.

“Pat. Bartholomew — this is no secret — was driven by a completely un-Christian feeling such as revenge, which he has stated many times,” Met. Anthony said. He noted unresolved issues between the Patriarchates of Antioch and Jerusalem and other factors that led some Churches to stay away.

“The Russian Church was the last of them. Nevertheless, for some reason Patriarch Bartholomew decided that it was the Moscow Patriarchate that tried to derail the council. And already then, when this happened, he used the word ‘revenge,’ speaking about what his reaction would be to the fact that a council that still took place ended up not being pan-Orthodox. Therefore, his personal grievance became another significant factor that led him to such an intrusion into Ukraine and interference in its church affairs,” Met. Anthony said.

The third motive, Met. Anthony asserted, was “papist ambitions.” He said the patriarch “began to consider himself a kind of pope of the Orthodox world, appropriating to himself certain imaginary privileges.”

“And, considering himself such an absolute autocrat of the Orthodox world, he believes he can do whatever he wants: annul decisions centuries old, grant someone autocephaly or revoke autocephaly, call deposed former clergy or laymen who were never lawfully ordained bishops and priests. This, without a doubt, leads to chaos in the Orthodox world and to sharp rejection of what Patriarch Bartholomew is doing,” he said.

Met. Anthony added that Pat. Bartholomew “understands the futility” of his decision and noted the small monastic presence in the OCU: “In all this so-called OCU there are not enough monks to fill even the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra alone.” He said these three factors nevertheless prevent Bartholomew from acknowledging any mistake.

He further emphasized that numerous Churches and hierarchs have called for a pan-Orthodox council on the Ukrainian question, but the Ecumenical Patriarch has consistently refused.

“Any attempts and our numerous appeals to begin a pan-Orthodox discussion of what is happening meet sharp resistance from the Ecumenical Patriarch, who, of course, understands that if everyone gathers, he will have to answer very uncomfortable questions — for which he most likely has no adequate answers," Met. Anthony said.

Previously, UOJ reported that Met. Anthony celebrated the feast of St. Catherine at the OCA's representation church in Moscow.

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