Moderator: Mark Templet
http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/ecumenism/a ... olomew.htm
After reading this article, I was wondering does the Ecumenical Patriarch even care about the Opinion of the Holy Fathers of Athos? How are we supposed to consider him the First Among Equals?
In Christ
OL
Orthodox Learner wrote:
"I was wondering does the Ecumenical Patriarch even care about the Opinion of the Holy Fathers of Athos?"
In a nutshell, no he does not. Any of the monks on Mt Athos that would be considered "Holy Fathers of Athos" by pretty much anyone on this list are, for the EP and much of the Church of Greece, basically persona non grata; there would be no sadness for the EP and the Church of Greece if all the "Holy Fathers" were to depart tomorrow, or sooner!
For years, and this has happened over and over, the EP has seen to it that abbots, and even entire monastic brotherhoods, are replaced with the so-called "neo-Orthodox," monks with advanced "modern" educations who sympathize with the EP in all of its ecumenical leanings. The "neo-Orthodox" also stress that Mt Athos is an "entirely Greek" phenomenon, and this has resulted in a push over the last several years to make the Holy Mountain entirely Greek-the EP has made it difficult, if not impossible, for non-Greek monastics to settle on Mt Athos, and attempts have been made to get rid of non-greek monastic communities.
When "foreign" monks are in possession of a monastery, skete, etc., and no more of their fellow countrymen are allowed to join them, after time, these monastic communities dwindle to small numbers. These small brotherhoods find it next to impossible to maintain large buildings, etc..-then the EP (or its "organ" on Athos, the "Holy Community") declares that Greek monks must establish a brotherhood in order to maintain the monastery. In this century, Russians, Serbs, Bulgarians and Romanians have been given a rough time when attempting to settle on the Holy Mountain; established communities of these "foreigners" have in some cases been forced out.
Greek monks who do not support the postions of the EP have had a hard way to go, too-Esphigmenou being the prime example. Many in Greece feel that the Greek government, the EP and the Church of Greece want to "improve" facilities on Mt Athos in order to make it more attractive to tourists, and earn more of the almighty dollar. Some feel Athos should be nothing more than some sort of Byzantine/Greek museum for tourists, with a few monks hanging around to look "picturesque," maintain things, and collect admission fees.
Unfortunately, persecution and expulsion of zealot fathers (those who do not support the EP) and "foreigners" (non-Greek monks) has been going on (in violation of both the Charter of Mt Athos and the Greek laws concerning it, as well as international treaties) for much if the 20th century. Not many have seemed to care much about this. When a particularly egregious example of persecution occurs-such as the expulsion of the monks of the Skete of the Prophet Elias (ROCOR monks) in 1992, or the recent persecutions of Esphigmenou, a few sympathizers attempt to complain; sadly, these have not amounted to much. Even more sadly, the "complaints" seemingly are "partisan"-ROCOR sympathizers protested in 1992; those sympthetic to the Synod of Abp Chrysostomos II of Athens protest the situation concerning Esphigmenou. EP supporters, of course, loudly proclaim the Patriarch's "papal prerogatives" to do whatever he wants with Mt Athos. The great majority of Orthodox seem simply not to care one way or the other, and many are totally ignorant of the situation on Mt Athos (those who are ignorant of the situation include the Hierarchies of some Orthodox Churches-most notably, of course, in the USA). If i remember correctly, in 1992, there was an attempt to move the persecutions in to the realm of human rights violations-Amnesty International was not too interested, seeing it as an internecine religious quarrel. Also, I think the Greek version of the "Supreme Court" upheld the expulsions of the ROCOR monks from Prophet Elias Skete as a "legitimate" thing for the EP to do. These five or six monks were ordered to leave "immediately," with no warning, and not allowed to collect even their personal possessions! These "orders to vacate" were made at gunpoint! The monks were escorted off Mt Athos by police or army, then "dumped" at Ouranopolis-with no money, no "papers" (ID type stuff) and told to get lost, basically.
This expulsion was seen by many as a sort of "trial run" to get rid of the Greek zealot fathers, and to move against Esphigmenou. Not many people were too worried about a few crazy Americans and Russians getting kicked out . . .
Orthodox Learner also asked, "How are we supposed to consider him the First Among Equals?"
Well, undoubtedly Patriarch Bartholomew is the "first among equals"-but, just exactly "equal" to what we will leave to your imagination . . .
mwoerl