SOС hierarch: Head of Phanar may provoke a rupture with Serbian Church

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. Photo: ridus.ru

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew set a precedent in Ukraine, which, if repeated on the Balkan Peninsula, will lead to the Serbian Orthodox Church breaking eucharistic communion with the Phanar, said Bishop Antonije (Pantelić) of Moravica, a vicar of Patriarch Porfirije, at the international theological conference at the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra "The Unity of the Church: Theological, Canonical, and Historical Dimensions," reports the UOC Information Center on its Facebook page.

The Serbian hierarch noted that the rupture could occur if the Ecumenical Patriarch unilaterally decides on the "autocephaly" of schismatics in Montenegro or Macedonia, as he did in Ukraine by issuing a tomos to the OCU. "If decisions are made regarding Macedonia, Montenegro, then, most likely, we can expect such an unfortunate occurrence that could break the eucharistic relationship between Constantinople and the Serbian Church," Bishop Antonije said.

As the UOJ reported, Bartholomew is not a pope, he has no authority over the Church, according to the Serbian hierarch.

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