Greek metropolitan urges dialogue to heal Russian-Ecumenical Church rift
Metropolitan Nektarios of Corfu says unity can be restored if both sides resume meaningful dialogue based on patience and mutual respect.
The rift between the Russian and Ecumenical Orthodox churches can be overcome through renewed dialogue, A bishop of the Church of Greece said on Sunday, Russia's state news agency TASS reported.
Metropolitan Nektarios of Corfu, Paxoi and the Diapontian Islands made the remarks in an interview with TASS.
He said the approach must rest on patience, sincerity, mutual respect and a genuine willingness to resolve disagreements.
"Such dialogue does not mean abandoning canonical principles or the truth," the metropolitan said.
He described dialogue as the Church's way of addressing differences responsibly, with awareness of a shared responsibility for the future of Orthodoxy.
Nektarios said the current difficulties between the Ecumenical and Moscow patriarchates are serious because they involve canonical and ecclesiological questions.
He added that these questions are burdened by historical and geopolitical contradictions.
The metropolitan also stressed the importance of preserving the Church's spiritual freedom from political authorities.
He said the unity of the Church is more valuable than any temporary standoff.
The dispute deepened in 2018, when the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul granted autocephaly, or self-governing status, to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.
The Russian Orthodox Church responded by suspending eucharistic communion with the Ecumenical Patriarchate, a split that has persisted since then.
