BOSTON. His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew declined for the second time the invitation of Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem, that was sent with his three-member committee, to attend the Synaxis of Primates, scheduled for February 26 in Amman, Jordan. Patriarch Bartholomew once again suggested that Theophilos cancel the Synaxis “so as not to make matters worse,” while the Jerusalem hierarchs said that the Synaxis convocation was also the wish of the Prince of Jordan.
Many interesting and revealing things were said and done during the meeting of the three-member delegation of Theophilos of Jerusalem with the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and the members of the Holy Synod at the Phanar, which The national Herald the reveals today.
The three-member delegation from Jerusalem consisted of the Metropolitans Hesychios of Kapitolias and Timotheos of Bostra, Exarch of the Holy Sepulcher in Cyprus, as well as Archbishop Nektarios of Anthidonos, Vicar of the Holy Sepulcher in Constantinople.
The discussion that took place at the office of the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew lasted for two hours in a pleasant atmosphere, despite the fact that the views were clear from the beginning. The Jerusalem hierarchs emphasized from the outset that they were showing respect and gratitude to the Ecumenical Patriarchate, saying that the Church of Jerusalem did not wish to depart from the line of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, but to coordinate and go along with it.
Clik here to view.
They also said that the conditions in the Holy Land were peculiar and difficult, and that they sometimes applied “prudent policies and tactics not to have the enemy at war against them, but to keep the enemy besides them in recession and dialogue.”
It was emphasized that the purpose of the meeting of the delegation of Jerusalem that Patriarch Theophilos sought was to deliver to the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew a new letter, written in Greek this time, inviting him to a meeting of Primates or their representatives in Amman, Jordan, on February 26 “for a brotherly discussion of matters of an inter-Orthodox nature, aiming to restoring the wound to the previous unity of Orthodoxy”.
The delegation of His Beatitude Theophilos explained that the English language was initially chosen for the invitation to the Synaxis for reasons of uniformity and to avoid misinterpretations and different readings by the Primates who received it.
The Jerusalem hierarchs revealed that this meeting is not only being convened by the initiative of Patriarch Theophilos, but also at the insistence of the Prince of Jordan, who, as he says, “closely follows Inter-Orthodox issues.”
They emphasized that the involvement of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew was crucial to preside over the Synaxis and with the skill that characterizes him to reaffirm his role as First and at the same time to guide the proceedings to the results he desires.
Even the Jerusalem hierarchs revealed during the discussion that Patriarch Theophilos plans to launch an attack on Patriarch Kirill of Moscow. At this point, Archbishop Anthidonos Nektarios, Commissioner of the Holy Sepulcher in Constantinople, said that anyone who dared to think that the Patriarchate of Jerusalem could ever sympathize with the plans of the Russians against the Ecumenical Patriarchate was grossly sinning and committing blasphemy and sacrilege. He also emphasized that the brave Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulcher has survived Islam for over 1,300 years and has kept the Holy Shrines in the hands of our Genos, so anyone who imagines they can be defeated by the Russians is mistaken.
It was emphasized that the arguments of the Jerusalem hierarchs failed to persuade the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and his Holy Synod, or to achieve the desired results. The members of the Synod of the Phanar provided full support to His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, saying not accept the invitation to attend the Synaxis of Patriarch Theophilos.
The post What Was Said and Done at the Phanar with the Jerusalem Delegation appeared first on The National Herald.