The Plenary Session of the Council of State ruled that it did not have the legal capacity, as a judicial body, to control the decision of the Holy Synod of the Hierarchy of the Church of Greece, which recognizes the right of the Ecumenical Patriarchate to declare autocephalus the Church of Ukraine, as this is an exclusively internal ecclesiastical issue.
More specifically, the Plenary Session of the CoS rejected the request of the “Panhellenic Orthodox Union” and individuals asking the annulment of the decision of the Holy Synod of the Hierarchy of the Church of Greece, which recognized the – according to canon law – right of the Ecumenical Patriarchate to grant autocaphaly to the Church of Ukraine, as well as of the privilege of the Archbishop of Athens to handle the issue on behalf of the Church of Greece.
In particular, the CoS ruled, in accordance with a relevant statement of its Plenary Session, that the decision of the Holy Synod concerns an internal ecclesiastical issue related to the structure of the Orthodox Church, as well as the inter-Orthodox relations and this issue is regulated exclusively by the canon law and not by state rules, and does not imply legal consequences for the state and the responsibilities of state bodies.
Consequently, the Plenary Session continues, the request for annulment is inadmissible because it is opposed to an act of spiritual content, which is not an enforceable administrative act, therefore, it cannot be controlled by the CoS.
Source: ANA-MPA
