As a result of the Phanar policy, the heads of the Churches become "little popes" - Archimandrite of the Patriarchate of Constantinople

Autocephaly is a political issue, not an ecclesiastical one, and it is resolved by the consent of all Local Churches, and not by the Phanar alone, said Nil (Adesi), professor of canon law, Archimandrite of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, in an interview on the YouTube channel of the Odessa diocese.

“Autocephaly, as has already been seen for a millennium, is not a church issue — it is a political issue. The canonical foundation of the Church is the province, it is the metropolitan and the bishops who obey him. We do not have to make revolutions and go back, but we have to understand the meaning. The Church can resolve the issue of autocephaly, but you need to be careful how church unity is preserved — it is preserved by the unity of all patriarchs, ”says Archimandrite Nil.

He emphasized that without the consent of all the Primates, genuine autocephaly cannot be granted: “The Phanar also understands this, so they put pressure on, put pressure on other Churches.”

According to the clergyman, the Phanar’s attempt to bypass the need for a common solution led to the fact that in some Local Churches they began to ignore the conciliar practice of governing the Church. In particular, the canonist named the Church of Cyprus, whose primate single-handedly recognized the OCU, without asking the opinion of the Synod.

“The result is that the heads of the Churches become“ little popes ”, thus abandoning the conciliar practice of the Church,” said Archimandrite Neil.

Earlier, Bishop Sylvester of Belogorodsky noted that the Constantinople model of primacy provides for the obligatory presence in the universal Church of the first hierarch with special powers. However, our Church fundamentally rejects such an understanding of primacy.