ECUMENICAL PATRIARCHATE

Exarchate of Parishes of Russian
Tradition in Western Europe

Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad comments on the decision of the Holy Synod of the Patriarchate of Moscow to send the personal dossier of Bishop Basil to Constantinople: ‘The canonical conflict has come to an end.’

Moscow, 29 March, Blagovest-info. 

The problem arising from the transfer of Bishop Basil (Osborne) to the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Constantinople has now been canonically completely regularised, announced Metropolitan Kirill, Chairman of Department for External Church Relations (DECR) to journalists on 29 March, commenting on the decision of the Holy Synod on 27 March 2007.

‘The problem arose because Bishop Basil moved to the Patriarchate of Constantinople of his own accord, without any request coming from Constantinople, and without the consent of the Moscow Patriarchate.  Now Constantinople has asked for his personal file, in which it is normal to include a letter of release.  This means that the Moscow Patriarchate has granted canonical release to Bishop Basil (Osborne),’ Metropolitan Kirill explained. ‘The canonical conflict has come to an end. Unfortunately the human one remains’.

The bishop noted that the resolution of this particular ‘canonical misunderstanding’ was the result of the meeting in Geneva this winter between a delegation from the Patriarchate of Constantinople and a delegation from the Patriarchate of Moscow headed by the chairman of the DECR.

‘We release Bishop Basil. He will now legitimately represent the Constantinople Church. We shall be able to concelebrate with him,’ said Metropolitan Kirill.