The Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) at a meeting on September 24, 2021, in Moscow decided to deprive the Ecumenical Patriarch of the right to be the leader of the Orthodox world.
In the “Point of View” section on Radio Liberty the religious expert, Dmytro Horyevoy called such actions of the Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church absurd, presumptuous, and void.
“The fact that the Moscow Patriarchate does not have the authority to deprive the Ecumenical Patriarchate of the right to a representative function in the outside world is already clear to many.
The actions of the Synod of the Russian Orthodox church resemble the decision of the Baryshevsky court. They are just as absurd in their presumptuousness and void in their consequences. With the same force, the Russian Orthodox Church can cancel the Baptism of St Volodymyr or the resurrection of Jesus Christ, because this happened without the permission of the Moscow Patriarch.
Since such rights of Constantinople were granted to it by Ecumenical Councils. Respectively, they can be withdrawn only by the same.
Therefore, the Russian Orthodox Church not only cannot deprive Patriarch Bartholomew of such rights but also violates canon law, which it declares its loyalty to, by such decisions,” Dmytro Horyevoy commented.
He added that the Moscow Patriarchate greatly miscalculated with this decision:
“After all, according to the accurate observation of Archimandrite Cyril Hovorun, if Bartholomew, in Moscow’s logic, lost the right to speak on behalf of universal Orthodoxy, then at least earlier he had such a right. But the Moscow Patriarchate itself has never recognized this right and denied it in every possible way!
And now I have actually confirmed that this right was still there. Moreover, when the conflict between the two churches is resolved in the long term and everything returns to its place, Moscow will have to recognize the leadership role of the Phanar, because this is spelt out in the decision of its Synod, even if it did not recognize this role before the crisis began.”