As regards the invitation of His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem addressed to the Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church to attend the fraternal meeting in Amman, Jordan, on February 25-27, 2020, the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church reiterated its decision no. 3668, reviewed in its decisions no. 9156/2018 and no. 180/2019, stating that the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Moscow Patriarchate resume the dialogue to reach, as soon as possible, a solution in the issue of the autocephaly of the Orthodox Church in Ukraine, so as not to deepen the polarization of the two opposing sides: one of the Orthodox Churches in favour of Constantinople, and the other pro-Moscow Orthodox Churches.
Furthermore, the Holy Synod indicated its agreement with the granting of autocephaly for the entire Orthodox Church in Ukraine (not just a part of it), but this can only be achieved by the agreement between the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Moscow Patriarchate and by pan-Orthodox consensus.
Since at the fraternal meeting in Amman the participants will discuss ways of reconciliation and restoring the Eucharistic communion between some sister autocephalous Orthodox Churches, and in order not to interpret the Amman meeting initiated by the Jerusalem Patriarchate as a Synaxis of the Primates of the Orthodox Church, the Holy Synod resolved that the Romanian Orthodox Church should not be represented by the Patriarch of Romania, but by a delegation of the Romanian Patriarchate.
This participation of the Romanian Orthodox Church in the fraternal meeting in Amman is motivated by the fact that all the autocephalous Orthodox Churches have the responsibility to work together for the maintenance, defence and promotion of the Orthodox dogmatic, canonical and Eucharistic unity, according to the Gospel of Christ and the Sacred Canons.
Press office of the Romanian Patriarchate
Translated by Basilica.ro
Photography courtesy of Basilica.ro / Mircea Florescu
