Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople does not have the same powers as the Pope of Rome, therefore he cannot make decisions on the granting of autocephaly to one of the structures of the Local Churches on his own. This was stated by the vicar of the Patriarch of Serbia Porfiry, Bishop Anthony (Pantelich) of Moravic on November 11, 2021 at the international theological conference in the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra “The conciliarity of the Church: theological, canonical and historical dimensions”, the Information Center of the UOC reports on Facebook.

The hierarch noted that after the head of the Phanar issued the Tomos to the OCU, representatives of some Local Churches tried to meet with him to discuss the Ukrainian issue, since such actions of Patriarch Bartholomew offend other Primates.

“Patriarch Bartholomew did not consult with any of the Local Orthodox Churches. This offends other primates of the Local Churches, and they believe that Bartholomew is the first among equals in honor, but not the first, like the Pope. He has no such authority. The Ecumenical Councils and the Church Fathers say that the Patriarch of Constantinople cannot be the one who alone makes decisions such as granting autocephaly to one of the structures of the Local Churches,” the bishop said.

Also, the vicar of Patriarch Porfiry said that the Serbian Church shares with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church the pain of schism.

“If one part of the body hurts, then the whole body hurts, and “the whole body” is the Church. If you have a toothache, then it is unpleasant for you, the whole body is ill. Also, if a schism occurs in one part of the Church, then we feel that this schism affects the entire universality of the Church. The universality of the Church is in unity,” said Bishop Anthony.

Earlier the head of the PAOC expressed his support for the canonical UOC.