The Patriarchate of Constantinople explained that the parishes of the Russian Exarchate were to simply move under the Patriarchate’s local Greek bishop, though this directive was received unfavorably by the Exarchate’s hierarch Archbishop John of Chariopoulis and the clergy who met on December 15 and resolved to hold the General Assembly in late February to decide on an official response.
The Archdiocese was largely in favor of staying together as a group, and it was reported that they were considering joining the Moscow Patriarchate, the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, or the Romanian Patriarchate, among other options.
As Orthodoxie reports, Abp. John opened the Assembly with a sobering word on the need for unity and canonicity:
Today,
we need to choose between life and death. Choosing life will mean the
continuity of our Archdiocese in its own space in communion with the
Church. Another option might be to say, yes, we stay in our own space,
but we remain in a kind of terra incognita, and I think
this is not the right path. So today, we must keep unity, that’s the
most important, and choose a path of life. Therefore, I urge you, let
not this meeting be a split between us, rather, let it be a sign of
unity and a strong ecclesial sign.
Read the rest here.
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