The “agenda” of the Holy Synod of Hierarchy in October is rich, as, in addition to the elections in 3 Metropolises (Phthiotis, Kalavryta, Lemnos) it is expected that, outside the agenda, the issue of recognition of status of Autocephaly of the Ukrainian Church will be discussed.
The week of October 7-11 will feature the work of a Synod that has much and important issues to analyze. It is not just the important keynote speeches and agenda items.
It is the elections in the three Metropolises and major issues that are of current concern, such as the management of Church property, refugee issue and, of course, the recognition of the Ukrainian Church.
The favourites
In the Metropolis of Phthiotis, the Hierarchy has come to the name of the Protosyncellus of the Archdiocese of Athens, Bishop Symeon of Thespies. At the Metropolis of Kalavryta, the Chief Secretary of the Synod and Abbot of the Spileou Holy Monastery, Ieronymos Karmas is also the favorite.
For the Metropolis of Lemnos, the two names heard so far are Archimandrite Ierotheos Kalogeropoulos, Protosyncellus of the Metropolis of Mesogaia, and Archimandrite Platon Krikris, member of the Holy Synod.
The above names appear to be both the Archbishop’s suggestions and are generally accepted by the body of the Hierarchy.
Ukrainian issue
The latest summit of the Standing Holy Synod has shown that the Ukrainian issue is a main concern of the Church of Greece. The latter recognized the right of both the Ecumenical Patriarch to grant the status of Autocephaly to an Orthodox Church and, at the same time, empowered Archbishop Ieronymos, in a fully synodic spirit, to handle the case with more subtlety. Metropolitans who had the opportunity to speak with the Archbishop during the Standing Holy Synod pointed out that Ieronymos pays particular attention to the Ukrainian issue.
According to the aforementioned Metropolitans, Ieronymos stressed to them that the Church of Greece will come to a decision as to the issue of recognition in the frame of Hierarchy, and will probably bring the issue -out of the agenda- to the Hierarchy in October.
The Church of Greece insists on paying particular attention to the Ukrainian issue, because it will determine both the relations with the Russian Church and it will give an indication as to how the other Orthodox Churches should treat the same issue.
In any case, as the Metropolitans claim, the line is consistent that both the Archbishop and the Metropolitans of Greece remain aligned with the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s stance on the matter and it is unlikely to move in the opposite direction.