The Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem has called for a summit meeting in Jordan of all Orthodox churches to push for unity and settle the differences that have recently led to a bitter split between the Russian and the Ukrainian Orthodox churches.
The call by Patriarch Theophilos III, the fourth most senior figure in the community of Eastern Orthodox churches, was made at a ceremony in Moscow on Thursday and was immediately accepted by Patriarch Kirill, head of the powerful Russian Church.
The invitation to meet in Amman will go to the leaders of all the 14 autocephalous (self-governing) Orthodox churches, including the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, who is recognised as the first among equals.
The Russians were swift to praise the initiative by Theophilos, who has remained strictly neutral in the row over the Ukrainians’ decision to split from Moscow and declare themselves a separate Church. After considerable lobbying and to their intense annoyance, the Russians were unable to prevent the Ecumenical Patriarch from recognising the Ukrainians as a separate church last year – a move that has devastating consequences for the Russians as it deprives them of almost a third of all the churches over which they had jurisdiction.
“The Russian Orthodox Church is ready to support all efforts aimed at developing fraternal communion and dialogue among local Orthodox churches,” a Russian church spokesman said.
Theophilos, whose own church has been mired in controversy after the sale of land to Israeli settlers, was in Moscow to receive an award, named after the late Patriarch Alexy II, the predecessor of Kirill, for efforts to promote Orthodox unity and uphold Christian values in society. In his speech, he made clear the close ties of all the Orthodox churches in Jerusalem with Moscow and their hopes that the Russians will be able to use their considerable influence to protect Christians in Jerusalem against what they see as encroachment on church rights and independence by the Israelis.
He said that the Church of Jerusalem had a vocation to ensure the holy sites in the city remained places of religious devotion and worship accessible to all. But he was compelled to express his “deep concern” about the present difficulties and the “imminent dangers” caused by the “unfortunate” divisions in Orthodoxy.
His invitation to Jordan skilfully avoids taking sides in the quarrel between Russia and Ukraine. It also pays tribute to King Abdullah II, who has political responsibility for maintaining the Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem but who has also expressed concern for the plight of Christians in the Middle East. The Jordanian royal family hosted a summit of Christian leaders in the region three years ago to underline the mass exodus of Christians driven out of Iraq and elsewhere by Islamist extremists.
The key question is whether both Bartholomew and the Ukrainians will accept the invitation to Amman, and whether the Russians will be able to hide their intense annoyance with Bartholomew, with whom they broke Eucharistic communion last year. There is a long history of bad blood between Moscow and Constantinople, and the Russians have long felt that the Ecumenical Patriarch does not pay sufficient respect to their dominance – in numbers and wealth – of the Orthodox community. Russia and several allied Orthodox churches boycotted a global summit called by Bartholomew in Crete three years ago, the first such council for 1,200 years.
A source close to the Patriarch said: “Patriarch Theophilos looks forward to working with His All Holiness, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and other primates over the next weeks to make the most of this historic opportunity.”
In the past few years, the Orthodox churches in Jerusalem, along with the Roman Catholic, Armenian, Coptic, Protestant and other denominations, have all felt under threat after an attempt by Israel to impose huge new taxes on church property and the campaign by Israeli settlers to buy up Christian land in Jerusalem and settle Jews there. The tensions were exacerbated by the actions of Theophilos’ predecessor as patriarch who secretly sold church property to a Jewish settler group. Since he was sacked Theophilos has lost several court cases in his attempts to nullify the sale.
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