In an announcement issued by the Synodical Committee on Press, Public Relations and Enlightenment issued, the Holy Synod responded to the criticism of the Metropolitan of Kythira regarding the decision of the Hierarchy on the Ukrainian autocephaly issue and the way the decision was made.
The announcement of the Holy Synod indirectly, not to say clearly, rebutted the statements of Metropolitan Seraphim of Kythira, who disputes the broad acceptance of the communiqué issued after the extraordinary meeting by the Hierarchy.
The announcement of the Holy Synod mentions that the press release, issued by the committee responsible after the extraordinary meeting of the Hierarchy on Saturday, was read out “to all the members of the Holy Synod and, following the corrections proposed by the Hierarchs, was finalised and was adopted as the final decision of the Hierarchy.”
Metropolitan Kallinikos of Paronaxia responded to the statement of the Metropolitan of Kythira, refuting the claims of Metropolitan Seraphim of Kythira that Metropolitan Kallinikos authorised him to vote on behalf of him in the event of voting on the issue.
The following is the full announcement of the Holy Synod:
In response to the announcement issued by Metropolitan Seraphim of Kythira on October 12, 2019, which is available on the Internet, regarding decision made by the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece on the Autocephaly of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, which was announced in a press release by the Press Committee, it is clarified that, as all Hierarchs who attended the meeting may confirm and recorded in the Minutes of the Holy Synod, the press release, which was based both on the Archbishop’s recommendation, the discussion in which 33 Hierarchs participated, and the conclusions, which His Beatitude announced after the discussion, was read out “to all the members of the Holy Synod and, following the corrections proposed by the Hierarchs, was finalised and was adopted as the final decision of the Hierarchy. Consequently, the Press Committee, which consists of three Hierarchs, has spoken the truth on what happened, and any other form of interpretation does not reflect the reality.