New Confrontation Between Moscow and Constantinople Patriarchates
Portal-credo.ru, 19 June 2008 - A new conflict has flared up between the Moscow and Constantinople patriarchates because of a decision by the latter to invite representatives of the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox church for participation in the work of the Inter-Orthodox Commission on the island of Rhodes; RPTsMP has again pronounced the Estonian church "uncanonical," ten years after a peaceful division of its parishes in Estonia.
"Such manifestations of unilateral diktats on the part of representatives of the Constantinople patriarchate make it extremely difficult to find a mutually satisfactory resolution of the question of a canonical rectification of the state of Orthodoxy in Estonia," Interfax-religiia quotes a statement from the Communications Service of OVTsSMP.
In addition, the document notes, such actions convey "a serious threat to the realistic achievement of Orthodoxy unity, whose strengthening is one of the most important concerns of the Russian Orthodox church." "Responsibility for such actions lies fully on representatives of the Constantinople patriarchate," the OVTsSMP said.
The delegation of the Moscow patriarchate duly left the session of the commission being held on Rhodes on 19 June, saying that a report about the situation that arose will be made to members of the Bishops' Council of RPTsMP that will begin on 24 June.
The goal of the commission's session is to prepare a draft of a letter to representatives of official local Orthodox churches. Adoption of the document itself is scheduled for the time of a meeting of Orthodox leaders which is expected to occur in October in Istanbul and will coincide with the current "year of the apostle Paul" to be declared by the Constantinople church.
The Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew invited Patriarch of Moscow and all-Rus Alexis II to participate in the fall meeting. In response to a letter of 3 June Patriarch Alexis expressed the hope that Patriarch Bartholomew will keep in mind the resolution of the Bishops' Council of RPTsMP of 2000 which speaks of the impossibility of representatives of the Moscow patriarchate participating in inter-Orthodox forums where representatives of the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox church participate in the capacity of official delegates.
Previously, in October 2007, a delegation of the Moscow patriarchate left a session of the Joint Orthodox-Catholic Theological Commission in Ravenna, where representatives of the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox church also participated. (tr. by PDS, posted 19 June 2008)
Source: http://www.stetson.edu/~psteeves/relnews