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The leader of the Orthodox Church, Patriarch Bartholomew I, has granted adherents of the Orthodox faith in Ukraine autocephaly, or in other words, independence from Russia. Bartholomew did this on his own authority, against the advice of other bishops, thereby violating canon law and contradicting decisions on Ukraine he himself made just a few years ago. The reactions could hardly have been worse: Other patriarchs refuse to follow suit. Even members of the Greek-Orthodox Holy Synod have voiced their disapproval. Orthodox Church leaders in Poland or the Czech Republic also oppose the ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople. The 2,000 monks (abbots...

The Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church has considered it impossible to remain in the Eucharistic communion with the Patriarchate of Constantinople The Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, at its session on October 15, 2019, in Minsk, adopted a Statement of the Holy Synod concerning the encroachment of the Patriarchate of Constantinople upon the canonical territory of the Russian Orthodox Church. The Holy Synod members deemed it impossible to continue to be in the Eucharistic communion with the Patriarchate of Constantinople. It is stated in particular that ‘to admit in communion the schismatics and a person anathematized...

The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, the spiritual center of Orthodox Christianity which is based in Turkey, is unable to train clergy and potential successors for the position of patriarch. The reason is that the Halki Seminary, the only school for training the leadership of Orthodox Christianity, was forcibly closed down by the Turkish government in 1971. It has been waiting to re-open its doors ever since.The closing of the Halki seminary, which was founded in 1844 on the island of Halki (Heybeliada), has made it very difficult for the Ecumenical Patriarchate to survive. The Allard K. Lowenstein International Human Rights...