The Jerusalem Patriarchate is ready to host the All-Orthodox Council on the Ukrainian issue

The hierarch of the Jerusalem Patriarchate, Archbishop Theodosius of Sebastia, has said that the Jerusalem Patriarchate is ready to provide a venue for a churchwide council dedicated to resolving the crisis over the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and problems in global Orthodoxy. The hierarch stressed that the leaders of the churches should meet to overcome the schism and restore unity, while recognizing exclusively the canonical UOC headed by His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufry.

According to Religion Today, Archbishop Theodosius said that the situation around the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is not an isolated case, but part of a broader crisis in world Orthodoxy caused by schisms and disagreements between autocephalous churches.

The hierarch expressed confidence that all problems can be solved through dialog, prayer and fraternal communion. «Patriarchs must meet, Primate of Churches must meet, a solution must be found. There is no problem that does not have a solution,» the source quoted him as saying. Archbishop Theodosius also noted that the Patriarchate of Jerusalem is ready to host such a meeting on its territory, but emphasized that the venue is not critical: «To make the situation of the Orthodox Church better, the Primate of the Churches should meet — in Jerusalem, in Amman, in any place they wish.»

The Archbishop paid special attention to the position of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem regarding church structures in Ukraine. He confirmed that the Patriarchate recognizes exclusively the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church headed by His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufry and does not accept any other church structures in the country. Moreover, the archbishop called the persecution of the UOC, including the seizure of churches, pressure on clergy and believers, and arrests, «a shameful stain on the body of humanity.» He urged all Christian Churches and international human rights organizations to give these actions a principled and objective assessment.

In conclusion, Archbishop Theodosius emphasized that only a cathedral discussion based on strict observance of Church canons and mutual trust can lead to long-term solutions that can guarantee the unity of Orthodoxy and the preservation of its historical mission in the modern world. Earlier, as also reported, one of the hierarchs of the UOC has already expressed the opinion that the Jerusalem Church can become the center that can unite world Orthodoxy.

Recall, earlier Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem made a program statement in which he proclaimed the Jerusalem Church «the natural guarantor of the unity of Orthodoxy». This statement was made during the celebrations marking the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Russian monastery of the Holy Trinity in Hebron in the presence of high-ranking representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church and Russian diplomats, which gives his words special significance in the context of current inter-Orthodox relations.