Head of Fanar: We love Serbian Church like mother loves her ungrateful kids

Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople. Photo: kurir.rs

The Patriarchate of Constantinople loves the Serbian Orthodox Church just like a mother loves her ungrateful children, the Patriarch of Bartholomew of Constantinople said in an interview with the Internet publication Kurir.rs.

“The Ecumenical Patriarchate, like the Mother Church, always loves its children, just as every mother loves her children. This means that all Churches received their autocephaly, their spiritual birth from the Ecumenical Patriarchate,” said Patriarch Bartholomew. “The Ecumenical Patriarchate ordained Saint Sabbah as archbishop. We gave the Serbian Church autocephaly, and we always love and care for the SOC like a mother who takes care of her children. And when some children sometimes do not obey their mother or, in this case, their Mother Church, She continues to love her ungrateful children.”

According to the head of Phanar, not all people respond with gratitude to the love of the Patriarchate of Constantinople for them. Among those ungrateful are some Serbian hierarchs.

“The Ecumenical Patriarchate, being the Mother Church, loves all people, all nations and has given a lot to them, but often people don’t know how to reciprocate. In fact, there are bishops in the Serbian Church who, in a sense, are ungrateful to the Ecumenical Patriarchate for all the good it has done,” he said. “We, as the Mother Church, regret that some bishops in the SOC do not accept certain things, but as the Mother Church, as their parents, we forgive them.”

Earlier, Patriarch Bartholomew declared that there are Churches that do not understand the centuries-old canonical order.

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