From its sources Start learned that in Constantinople, Ecumenical Patriarch Kyr Bartholomew explained that if the Constantinople Patriarchate recognized the Macedonian Orthodox Church it would turn the Serbian and Russian Orthodox Churches into its enemies. He pointed out that they had tried to find a way to overcome the problem, but facing the firm rejection of the Serb archbishops, the Ecumenical Patriarchate decided to pull out of the dispute between the MOC and SOC. The decision of the Ecumenical Patriarchate to pull out of the dispute weakens the Macedonian side. Now, the MOC will have to directly negotiate with the SOC and continue talks that were stopped after the start of the military conflict in Macedonia. The essence of the problem is described in the two letters written by the heads of the two churches published by START in this issue.
"The Holy Synod of Bishops of the Macedonian Orthodox Church yet again wishes to express its deep gratitude for the deep contribution of the Serb Orthodox Church (SOC) to the Macedonian Orthodox Church (MOC). However, consultations indicate that the only factor with the authority to bestow full autonomy and autocephaly is the Constantinople Patriarchate - the Mother of all Eastern Orthodox Churches.
"... The SOC cannot secure that without an agreement from the Constantinople Patriarchate. Only the Ecumenical Patriarchate can bestow full autonomy and autocephaly to local Eastern Orthodox Churches. Consequently, if the SOC were to grant autonomy or autocephaly to the MOC, that would not be accepted by the Eastern Orthodox Ecumene [religious community]. This was emphasized several times during discussions with Your commission. We were told the same during the meeting with the commission of the Constantinople Patriarchate held on February 5, 2001 in Constantinople.
"Your Holiness, "This motivated and prompted us to yet again, most sincerely, calmly and filled with brotherly love, ask you to agree to take over the question of the status of the MOC, in the spirit of holy cannons and practice in analogous cases in Eastern Orthodox Christianity.
"Given your confirmed evangelical love towards holy Orthodoxy and the Church of Christ, we are deeply convinced that our request will be correctly interpreted and accepted.
"We recommend ourselves to Your holy prayers. Your in Christ the God, brother and fellow".
"...We believe that it is high time you understood that jurisdiction or, more accurately speaking, canonical hierarchy in the Eastern Orthodoxy cannot be changed like a shirt; it is impossible to follow the logic: our demands are the only thing that matters in life; if we cannot fulfill our demands, we'll change jurisdiction. Such a precedent would set grounds for the ultimate collapse of any type of organization in the Eastern Orthodox religious life, open doors to canonical chaos, literally to the breakdown of the system on which the Church was based in historical time, to the ignominy and end of Eastern Orthodox souls, and merriment of all the enemies of the Orthodoxy.
"...We are wondering how come you are not aware of the danger of such a precedent, not only for the Serb and Russian Orthodox Church, or any other local church but also for Your own territory, where some groups or fractions could one day say: we do not support the Macedonian church option; we'll instead join the Serb, Bulgarian, Constantinople Patriarchates, or the Romanian Patriarchate (and, given recent developments and the fact that, unfortunately, terrorists are in control of not only Kosovo and Metohija but are also knocking at the gates of Skopje and control Western Macedonia, perhaps even the Albanian Orthodox Church)?
"...We would like to remind you that your delegation that visited Constantinople on February 5, 2000, did not negotiate, nor could it negotiate, with a responsible commission of the Constantinople Patriarchate. These were unofficial discussions since, in the presence of one of our archbishops, in Phanar at the Patriarchate, you were told that Constantinople could not officially participate in the talks until it is officially invited by the Serb Patriarchate. Such an invitation from our side does not exist, which is why his Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew did not personally receive your delegation.
"One more remark: in your letter to the Constantinople Patriarchate you generously present it with the title which it does not use, nor does anyone else, except for your church, use and recognize that title: ‘The Mother of Eastern Orthodox Churches'. This title is pure nonsense both from the axiological and canonical point of view. The Constantinople Patriarchate is the Church-Mother only of the new autocephalous churches, such as Bulgarian, Serb, Russian, Romanian... In no case can it be considered the mother of the ancient apostolic churches. Also, the Constantinople Patriarchate is not the Mother Church of the original Ohrid Archbishopric. Ohrid archbishop was selected and appointed by the Byzantine emperor, personally, reflecting the importance of that bishopric, while the Constantinople Patriarch was neither consulted nor had any jurisdiction over the Church of the ancient and spiritually rich Ohrid. Therefore, for both you and us the Constantinople Patriarchate is the Mother Church, but, being one of them, it cannot be the Mother Church of the ancient apostolic churches.
"...You assert that the SOC cannot secure presence and participation of Your Church in All-Orthodox assemblies, councils and conferences without agreement of the Constantinople Patriarchate; then, you arbitrarily conclude that ‘the only church with the authority to bestow full autonomy and autocephaly is the Constantinople Patriarchate,' and ‘the autonomy or autocephaly obtained from the SOC would not meet with general acceptance of the Eastern Orthodox Ecumene'.
"None of these statements, unfortunately for you, are correct. Let us deal with them one by one! Contrary to your assertion, only the SOC can secure presence and participation of Your Church in All-Orthodox assemblies and celebrations. Your Church cannot secure this participation in any way independently from the SOC. The reasons are simple: you have willfully separated yourself from the Eastern Orthodox Ecumene. That is why our commission for dialog has taken it upon itself, as a sign of good will, to intervene in Constantinople and secure participation rights for Your Church. We shall fulfill our promises, but you should reexamine your sincerity and your readiness to keep your word. There is no mystification here. The Constantinople Patriarchate issues invitations to All-Orthodox manifestations. However, only the SOC can secure an invitation for Your Church; you can never get such an invitation independently.
"Your claim that allegedly ‘full autonomy and autocephaly' can only be granted by the Constantinople Patriarchate is simply ridiculous. This is an unprecedented statement from the theological-canonical point of view, since you introduce a distinction between autocephaly and full autocephaly, autonomy and full autonomy... We wonder whether you are aware of the proposal of the Constantinople Patriarchate regarding the manner in which autocephaly and autonomy are to be granted to local churches, presented for the future World and Grand Council of Eastern Orthodox Churches, debated at the All-Orthodox Council held a few years ago in Chambery near Geneva? The truth is that three preconditions are necessary for granting of autocephaly: approval of the mother church, approval by the Constantinople patriarchate, and approval of all the local churches. Before the future Council, the only condition required for granting of autonomy is an agreement with the Mother Church. The only open issue is who is to declare and sign Thomos [charter]: whether only Constantinople, whether Constantinople and the head of the Mother Church, or whether heads of all local churches... That will be resolved at the Council, while everything else has already been agreed. Forgive us, but your ignorance is only your problem and the result of your practices so far. Today, within the framework of the Russian Orthodox Church we have several autonomous churches; Ukrainian, Byelorussian, Kazakh, Japanese... Is the Constantinople Patriarchate or any other church questioning these agreements? Are you not aware of several times repeated statements from Constantinople, Athens, Moscow and all other churches that they will accept everything that You and We agree, except for autocephaly? Do you really believe that we are so ignorant and irresponsible that you could swindle us with empty words?
"You are correct in stating that ‘autocephaly granted by the SOC would not be generally accepted by other Eastern Orthodox Churches'. Such an act would fulfill only one of three necessary conditions for granting of autocephalous status: the will of the Mother Church. The remaining two conditions, agreement of the Constantinople Patriarchate and of all local churches are not possible even in theory. With your reckless and willful attempts to move the issue of autonomy to the jurisdiction of the Constantinople, you are denying yourself your basic goal - the right to call your church the Macedonian church [Greek churches oppose the use of this name by the MOC].
"The choice and responsibility is yours, and only yours. Either you'll join the Orthodox Ecumene through the wide open doors, or remain where you are, and you know best that you are nowhere... The task for our Council and your Synod is to accept or reject the proposed agreement on autonomy. Our Synod accepted the draft agreement in May, and God willing will propose to the Council of Serb Archbishops to accept it. Your Synod, instead of clearly accepting or rejecting the draft proposal, has been avoiding the subject and behaving as if several years of official negotiations did not exist, which is also humiliating for your own negotiating commission. You seem to be telling us that negotiations never happened and that you wish to start yet again from the very beginning.
"...You face an all-or-nothing choice. We, with sincere love of Christ, are offering everything that is essentially possible, useful and beneficial. Whether that solution will be final, will be determined by Grace of God and future of the Church, and will also depend on your brothers bishops and your loyalty to the Gospel and your love towards the Church and the flock God entrusted you with. If you decide to follow the path of Gospels, you will have us as loyal friends and supporters; if, God forbid, you opt for a different path, or dead-ends, you will have to travel alone, without us, and many others".