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Catholic World News News Feature

Orthodox avert schism January 09, 2002

After three months of near-schism, the Orthodox patriarchates of Moscow and Constan-tinople are once more in full communion. Patriarch Aleksei II of Moscow has instructed his flock to resume the traditional prayer in the litany for the Patriarch of Constantino-ple. And the Estonian Orthodox community, whose uncertain status caused the split, will be divided between the two jurisdictions. But not all is yet peace; Metropolitan Cornelius of Tallinn refuses to accept the deal. Under the "peace agreement" concluded on May 16, Estonia's 84 Orthodox parishes will have four months to decide their own future. Nearly half of them have already decided that they want to be transferred to the jurisdiction of Constantinople, which has appointed Archbishop Johannes of the Finnish Orthodox Church as their temporary leader; 41 have opted to remain under Metropolitan Cornelius and the Moscow Patri-archate. Six have yet to make up their minds. But Cornelius is unwilling to make peace. At first he seemed to accept the deal, telling the media through a spokesman that the agreement meant that Constantinople had accepted his claim to be the legitimate head of the Orthodox flock in Estonia, and that therefore he would be renewing his claim to all the Orthodox Church property confiscat-ed during the Communist era. The "Russian" parishes have been assured that they can continue to have the use of their church buildings and rectories. Cornelius, however, has his eye on all kinds of real estate formerly owned by the Orthodox Church. A few days later, however, he changed his stance and publicly proclaimed that only those who accept the authority of the Moscow Patriarchate are true Orthodox Christians. In particular, he said, adherents of the (modern) Gregorian calendar "support heresy." But in a number of countries--including Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, and Romania--the Orthodox Church has switched to the Gregorian calendar. Cornelius apparently considers those churches to be heretical. The conflict between Moscow and Constantinople during the last few months has been felt as a painful wound by Orthodox believers world-wide. The ruling Holy Synod of the Constantinople Patriarchate is unwilling to tolerate Cornelius in Estonia, since his statements contradict the new peace agreement, and, if unchecked, could hinder the amicable resolution of the still very delicate situation among Estonia's Orthodox believers as they sort out their new allegiances.