Odessa Mayor’s Controversial Invite to Patriarch Alexis II

09.07.2001, 18:38

At an open session of Odessa’s city council held on 4 July 2001, Mayor Ruslan Bodelan (pictured at right)at first denied but then later confirmed that he had invited Alexis II, Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus, to visit Odessa at the end of 2001. Challenged by a council member, Bodelan denied it, though in a later summary of his recent trip to Moscow he clarified his general invite.

During his visit to Moscow on July 2 and 3, Bodelan had invited the Patriarch to come to celebrate the completion of the building of the cathedral church of the Holy Transfiguration. A council member at the meeting in Odessa questioned the propriety of inviting a foreign guest for the dedication of a cathedral that was rebuilt at the cost of the faithful of Odessa, Ukrainian citizens. Mr. Bodelan replied “In fact, I did not make the invitation.” He called the information about the invitation of the Moscow Patriarch, which was spread by the local television channel RIAK, “the creation of journalists.” However, at the end of the day’s session Mr. Bodelan gave a short report about the official delegation’s visit to Moscow in which he corrected his previous explanation. “I have the right to invite a guest and it’s not ethical to criticize me for that.” Further explaining his actions, he admitted: “If a normal conversation is going on and you’re having a conversation with an acquaintance who’s come from, let’s say, New York or Washington or Israel, as a rule you say: come and visit us.” RIAK reports “The Patriarch expressed his serious intent to travel to Odessa to dedicate the rebuilt cathedral.”

During his last visit to Odessa, at the end of 1998, Patriarch Alexis II met with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople. And another Moscow Patriarchate leader is making news in Odessa. The local authorities have invited representatives of 36 religious organizations to take part in a conference to be held on July 10 on “The Place and Role of Religious Organizations in the Revival of the Region.” According to the newspaper Young Ukraine, Metropolitan Ahafanhel (Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate) has refused to take part if Bishop Ioan of the Odessa-Baltska eparchy (Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kyivan Patriarchate) is invited.

The Ukrainian-language source article for this material can be found at www.kievpatriarch.org, www.korespondent.net or www.ukrop.com.