Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew is determined to claim to the end the stolen heirlooms from Macedonian temples, who in a letter to Metropolitan Pavlos of Drama clarifies that the issue of claims for the Patriarchate remains “open”, according to an article of orthodoxia.info.
On the occasion of the inauguration of the Holy Temple of the Entrance of the Theotokos of Petrousa, a church of the Metropolis of Drama which had been occupied by the “Bulgarian Exarchate” and was destroyed during the events of that time, resulting in its loss by the Greek bureaucracy, which almost characterized it a “plot,” the Ecumenical Patriarch spoke of a “brilliant achievement,” emphasizing with meaning to the Metropolitan of Drama that these actions are a debt to the Fathers of History, to the ecclesiastical and national dignity and to Justice.
“Because any admission or tolerance of the wrongdoings and immoral acts committed in the recent past in the afflicted Macedonia constitutes common approval, complicity and a morally impermissible case, both the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Metropolis of Drama, as well as the rest afflicted Metropolises of the Throne ought to maintain “open” this case and we will not stop fighting until its complete and perfect settlement, that is, until the return of the last sacred item of those which were stolen from us!” the Ecumenical Patriarch wrote in his letter to the Metropolitan of Drama, to whom he expressed his patriarchal satisfaction.
Nationalism overthrows values
A few days ago, in another letter to the Metropolitan of Drama, on the same issue, which is a move of high symbolism, the Ecumenical Patriarch pointed out the blows that nationalism and ethnoracism have caused to the Church.
“The history and adventures of the temple and the faithful to the Ecumenical Patriarchate of the region are a strong testimony to the overthrow of values, represented by nationalism, both in the ecclesiastical and in the wider social ground,” Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew stressed in his letter.
It is worth noting that in recent years, the Metropolitan of Drama has given many and intense battles for the return of relics stolen by Bulgarian forces during the Balkan wars, from Greek monasteries. This effort is personally supported by the Ecumenical Patriarch who in 2015 during his official visit to Sofia did not hesitate to demand their return before the authorities of the country, causing great reactions from the nationalist circles of the country.