Patriarch of Antioch refuses to attend the Amman Meeting
Patriarch John X of Antioch has officially refused to go to the so-called fraternal meeting in Amman, Jordan. The respective message appeared on the official Facebook page of the Patriarchate of Antioch, according to Religiyna Pravda (Religious Truth).
The statement argues that this decision will strengthen the split between the brothers.
"The Church of Antioch reaffirms its strong position that "harmony” between the Churches, based on the Bible and the noble tradition, is the main rule of the Orthodox Church regarding common decisions at the entire Orthodox level, as well as in resolving outstanding issues,” the statement says.
It also notes that a breakup between the Churches of Antioch and Jerusalem still exists, and first it is necessary to resolve this issue – to return to consultations in order to achieve harmony between the brothers.
On the eve of February 21, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church also announced its refusal to go to a meeting in Amman. The Patriarchates address states that the Holy Synod expresses its personal brotherly love for His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilus III of Jerusalem and deep respect for the Patriarchate of Jerusalem.
The meeting of heads and representatives of Orthodox Churches to discuss the "Ukrainian issue" will take place on February 26 in Amman, Jordan.
The initiative to hold the meeting on November 21, 2019, was announced by Patriarch Theophilus of Jerusalem at the request of Moscow.
Orthodoxy is represented by 15 Autocephalous Churches. The heads of the four largest ones have already made it clear that they will not go to Amman. They are the Patriarch of Constantinople, the Patriarch of Alexandria, and the archbishops of Cyprus and Greece. Albanian Archbishop Anastasius and Georgian Patriarch Ilia also refused to attend.
On the contrary, in addition to the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Kirill, and the Patriarch of Jerusalem, Serbian Patriarch Irenaeus will take part in the meeting. The Romanian and Polish Churches decided to send a delegation of bishops to the meeting.
