Metropolitan Irenaeus (Bulović): The issue of autocephaly has become a tool for undermining church unity

Metropolitan Irinej (Bulović) of Bač, speaking at the conference “Orthodoxy in the World: Primacy and Conciliarity in the Light of Orthodox Doctrine,” criticized the contemporary church practice of granting autocephaly. The hierarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church stated that the issue of ecclesiastical independence has transformed from a tool for strengthening conciliarity into a means of destabilizing universal Orthodoxy.

In his speech , Bishop Irinej emphasized that the issue of autocephaly was supposed to be a central topic of the Council of Crete, but due to organizational obstacles and the unwillingness of the leadership of the Patriarchate of Constantinople to discuss pressing issues, it was excluded from the agenda. According to the metropolitan, it was precisely the lack of a pan-Orthodox consensus on this issue that led to tragic consequences and Constantinople’s anti-canonical interference in the internal affairs of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

The hierarch elaborated on the historical transformation of the concept of autocephaly, noting that Constantinople’s contemporary approach to this status bears the hallmarks of “neo-papism.” He criticized the granting of the Tomos to Ukrainian schismatic structures, characterizing it as “pseudo-autocephaly,” which not only imposes strict restrictions but also effectively places the Patriarch of Constantinople in a position that belongs only to Christ.

In concluding his statement, Metropolitan Irenaeus called for freedom from external political pressure and the development of a truly conciliar theology. He expressed hope that, despite the current deep crisis, the Church would be able to overcome its differences and avoid the threat of a new schism, comparable in its consequences to the events of the 11th century.