Moscow, April 24, 2017

An international coalition opposing the decisions of last June’s “Pan-Orthodox” Council on the island of Crete are planning to hold a “Pan-Orthodox” Council in Ukraine in June-July to anathematize ecumenism and those who support it, reports the site Religion in Ukraine.

The decision for the Ukraine synaxis came as a result of the recent “Thessaloniki Inter-Orthodox Synaxis” held on April 4. Although the gathering was forbidden by the hierarchy of the Greek Church, it brought together about a thousand clerical, monastic, and lay opponents of ecumenism and globalism from the Greek, Romanian, and Russian Orthodox Churches.

Greetings and blessings were read out to the gathering from Bishop Longin (Zhar), vicar bishop of the Chernivtsi Diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and founder of Holy Ascension Monastery in Banchensk, which cares for around 500 children, some of whom are disabled and afflicted with HIV.

The synaxis called upon Greek clergy to cease commemoration of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, saying, “We have suspended association with Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople as the main organizer of the Council, and with the representatives and preachers of the pan-heresy of ecumenism, and with all bishops who accept the Crete Council as Orthodox.”

Those gathered condemned ecumenism and the Crete Council. Moreover, the Thessaloniki participants laid plans to hold a Pan-Orthodox anti-ecumenism council at Banchensk Monastery in June-July, in which they intend to anathematize Patriarch Bartholomew and others who they view as supporters of ecumenism.

Bishop Longin has also taken a strict stance in regards to Patriarch Kirill’s February, 2016 joint declaration with Pope Francis. At the same time, Vladyka Longin has remained a member of the Inter-Council Presence of the Russian Orthodox Church—a body advising the highest authority of the Russian Church in matters concerning its internal life and external activities.

His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kiev and All Ukraine celebrated the Divine Liturgy at Holy Ascension Monastery in Banchensk yesterday, on Thomas Sunday, or Anti-Pascha, concelebrated by Metropolitan Meletios of Chernivtsi and Bukovina and Bishop Longin.