There will be weak participation in the upcoming primates’ gathering in Amman, Jordan, after the invitation of the Patriarch of Jerusalem.
Patriarch John of Antioch said that he would not attend the gathering. As he said, he wanted to avoid events that would increase the gap between brothers and accentuate their differences.
As we know so far, only a few primates responded to the invitation of the Patriarch of Jerusalem.
One the one hand, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, Patriarch Irinej of Serbia, and Archbishop Rastislav of Czech Lands and Slovakia are expected to attend the gathering.
The Patriarchate of Romania will send a delegation. The Church of Poland has not formally made any announcement.
On the other hand, other Churches, including the Church of Greece, Cyprus, Albania, responded that they would not attend the gathering.
The Patriarchates of Georgia, Alexandria and Bulgaria also responded that they won’t attend the meeting.
The stance taken by the official Churches regarding the invitation of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem has certainly proved one thing.
Despite any reservations about the way the Ecumenical Patriarchate handled the matter of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, they are not prepared to challenge the status quo in the Orthodox Church.