Communiqué of the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate

On February 27, the Holy Synod of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, chaired by His All-Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew, continued its work examining all the issues listed on its agenda. 

The case of Archpriest Alexey Uminsky, a former cleric of Moscow Patriarchate, was heard among other items on the agenda.  He filed an appeal on his defrocking by Moscow to the Ecumenical Patriarchate. 

The Patriarch accepted the submitted petition, which was based on the Divine and Sacred Canons (9 and 17 of the Fourth Ecumenical Council) and the historical practice of the Church of Constantinople in considering appeals. 

After a thorough study of the case, it was decided that the reasons for the final verdict pronounced by the Moscow Church authorities was not determined by ecclesiastical criteria, but a result of the opposition of Archpriest Aleksey to the war in Ukraine.  His All-Holiness, having considered the appeal in its entirety, submitted for consideration to the Holy Synod the rejection of the imposed removal from the priesthood and the restoration of the clergyman to his former ecclesiastical rank.  It was unanimously approved. 

At the request of Fr. Aleksey, the Ecumenical Patriarch exercised his right to accept the restored cleric under his omophorion, which is in accordance with the ancient recognized privileges of his position. This is recorded in Theodore Balsamon’s interpretation of Canons 17 and 18 of the Council of Trullo and Canon 10 of the Seventh Ecumenical Council (“From this rule it follows, that only the Patriarch of Constantinople has the right to receive clergy from other churches, even if they have not received a letter of release from the bishop who ordained them.”)