Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk consecrated a Russian church in Limassol with the “blessing” of Metropolitan Athanasios of Limassol.
In fact, the two hierarchs together celebrated the Divine Liturgy on the occasion of the inauguration of the Holy Church of St. Nicholas in Limassol, which belongs to the Moscow Patriarchate.
They were joined by Metropolitan Timothy of Vostron, Exarch of the Holy Sepulchre in Cyprus.
The questions that arise are many. The Moscow Patriarchate cut off communication with the Church of Cyprus after recognizing the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.
The fact that the two hierarchs celebrated the Divine Liturgy together raises questions, as does the question of whether Archbishop George of Cyprus was aware of this (the Patriarch of Moscow had already given his “blessing” to this visit of the Russian delegation, according to his official website).
The Holy Church was constructed in an area under the jurisdiction of the Metropolitan of Limassol.
Were Archbishop George of Cyprus and the Holy Synod of the Church of Cyprus informed about the construction of a Russian church on the island?
Even more, were they aware of the meeting between the Metropolitan of Limassol and the close associate of the Patriarch of Moscow on the occasion of the inauguration of the church?
This particular Church cannot function as the Exarchate of the Russian Church in Cyprus. If the Russian Church wishes to establish an official representation in Cyprus, it should seek the permission of the Holy Synod of the Church of Cyprus.
So far, there is no known decision of the Holy Synod of the Church of Cyprus that would justify this.
Therefore, Metropolitan Athanasios should be commemorated in the Divine Services celebrated in the Church of St. Nicholas in question.
Whether all of the above has been observed, and which of the above is true, cannot be known with certainty. The Metropolis of Limassol has not issued any statement or press release explaining what happened on Sunday, May 19 at the Holy Church of St. Nicholas.
On the contrary, the website of the Department for External Church Relations of the Russian Orthodox Church, whose president is the Metropolitan of Volokolamsk, informed its readers that “the consecration of the Russian Church of St. Nicholas in Limassol took place”.
According to mospat.ru, at the end of the Divine Liturgy, Metropolitan Athanasios of Limassol expressed his satisfaction with the successful completion of “years of work on the construction of the church dedicated to St. Nicholas”.
The Metropolitan also expressed his deep gratitude to Patriarch Kirill of Moscow for his continued interest in this construction and for sending the high-ranking delegation led by the President of the Department for External Church Relations of the Russian Orthodox Church for the consecration.
The Metropolitan of Limassol expressed the certainty that the newly built church will unite the faithful of different nationalities and contribute to the strengthening of the unity of Orthodoxy”.
The Metropolitan of Limassol had opposed from the very beginning the decision of the late Archbishop of Cyprus Chrysostomos to recognize the autocephalous Orthodox Church of Ukraine, even though this decision brought him into conflict with the former Primate of the Church of Cyprus on several occasions.
Metropolitan Athanasios was a candidate for the Archbishop’s throne in Cyprus in the elections held in December 2022, in which Mr. Georgios was elected Archbishop.
Efi Efthimiou
Photo: mospat.ru
