Constantinople Patriarchate: We Can Grant Autocephaly To Orthodox Of Former Rzeczpospolita Without Moscow’s Consent

Belarus and Ukraine have always been the canonical territory of the Church of Constantinople, not the Moscow Patriarchate.

This was stated by a representative of the Patriarchate of Constantinople Archbishop Job (Hecha) in an interview to risu.org.ua.

“In the history, all the new Orthodox Churches remain the former territories of the Universal Patriarchate, to which it granted autocephaly. Due to the canonical reasons, the Universal Patriarchate occupies the first place in the Orthodox world,” — the hierarch has stated.

Due to the existence of the Kyiv Metropolia, which united all the Orthodox of Rzeczpospolita, Constantinople granted the Orthodox Church of Poland autocephaly without the consent of the Moscow Patriarchate in 1924.

The Kyiv Metropolia directly subordinated to Constantinople until the end of the 17th century, when the Moscow tsardom occupied Kyiv.

“What were the grounds for giving Thomas to the Orthodox Church of Poland in 1924? Constantinople considered the Church of Poland as a former part of the Kyiv Metropolia. As we know, under Metropolitan Cyprian Tsamblak the Kyiv Metropolia was within the Polish-Lithuanian state, that is, its boundaries extended to the territory of Poland, and Lithuania ", — the Archbishop has said.

Thomas - the resolution of the local primate of the Orthodox Church on any important issue of church organization. Among the other things, Thomas can give the church the right to autonomy (partial self-government) or autocephaly (full self-government).

It is clear from the Archbishop’s words that Belarus, as a former part of the Great Duchy of Lithuania, which was also included in the Kyiv Orthodox Metropolia, is also considered the canonical territory of the Patriarchate of Constantinople .

“If Constantinople granted autocephaly to the Church of Poland on the ground of the Kyiv Metropolia in 1924, why would Constantinople have no right to give autocephaly to that very Kyiv Metropolia today? If it was possible in 1924, it is possible today,” —the hierarch has summarized.