Jad Ganem: Patriarch Bartholomew's Criticism of Predecessors

 Arabic original here.

Criticism of Predecessors

On June 11, Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople celebrated the feast of his patron saint with the participation of an official delegation from the Church of Cyprus, another from the entity that Constantinople created for the schismatics in Ukraine, and a number of bishops from the Churches of Constantinople and Greece.

During the Divine Liturgy, His Holiness gave a speech in which he stressed the role and privileges of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, in which he said:

"We have, and we recognize that we have a singular responsibility among the Orthodox as Archbishop of Constantinople. There are those who consider these as privileges, which is why they envy the apparent glory of the resurrection, while overlooking the Golgotha of serving the Truth at any cost. We do not enter into dialogue about that which is self-evident and handed down to us by our forefathers. The responsibilities of our Throne are not negotiable. They cannot be surrendered. And they cannot be disposed. 

We will not allow any alienation from the blessed ecclesiology as clearly described in the documents of our history. We will not permit condescension, economia, courtesy, certain friendly concessions and actions of the previous century, initiated by some of our predecessors in the hope of unity, but unfortunately far removed from the authentic and ancient ecclesiology.

We will not allow them to overturn everything sacred that God’s providence has erected for the Throne of Constantinople. Constantinople is tantamount to sacrifice, responsibility, unceasing self-offering. But it does not amount to a chess-piece in the passing interests and opportunistic intentions of every historical circumstance."

All of this raises a number of questions:

What is the historical responsibility that has been placed upon the shoulders of the Patriarch of Constantinople? Is it a responsibility to coordinate between the local churches? Or is it a responsibility to lead or govern these churches unilaterally according to his personal view of things?
Who defines what Constantinople's historical responsibility is? Is it the Patriarch of Constantinople himself, with his group? Or is it the universal Orthodox Church?

If Patriarch Bartholomew himself has admitted that those who preceded him departed from "the ancient and original ecclesiology", then how do we know that he has not himself departed from this ecclesiology today?

If Constantinople's role is centered on a historical reading of events according to Patriarch Bartholomew, then which historical period should be the point of reference? The era of the Ecumenical Councils? The era of union with Rome? Or the Ottoman era?

Perhaps everything above confirms, now more than at any time in the past, that Constantinople's role in the Orthodox world has become a problem that must be solved in a conciliar manner, through a council that includes all Orthodox bishops, especially follwing Patriarch Bartholomew's having accused his predecessors of departing from ecclesiology in order to justify his current deviation from it and effort to apply the theory of "first without equals" which no one had previously claimed?

Is the universal Church going to take the patriarch's words seriously?