Clergy Russian Orthodox Church Amsterdam split off after ‘threat’

A number of Orthodox Christian clergy in Amsterdam no longer want to fall under the Moscow Patriarchate and leave the Russian Orthodox Church. The reason is, among other things, a “threat” that the religious community has had to deal with, the Amsterdam church writes on Saturday on Facebook† According to the Dutch daily newspaper It involves four priests and the deacon.

The Amsterdam denomination took earlier this month away from Patriarch Kirill, the highest-ranking cleric in the Russian Orthodox Church. Kirill has expressed his support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Amsterdam parish therefore no longer wanted to remember Kirill during church services, it writes Dutch daily newspaper† Elisej, the bishop of the Russian Orthodox Archdiocese of the Netherlands and The Hague, appeared unexpectedly during mass last Sunday.

Afterwards, Elisej would report Dutch daily newspaper citing sources at the parish, have said Kirill’s rejection is “worrying not only for the patriarchate, but also for the Russian Foreign Ministry.” According to Elisej, there would be “great interest” in the Amsterdam church in Russia. According to the newspaper, the clerics take these statements as threats.

The Amsterdam clergy think it is “not possible” to remain within the Russian Orthodox Church any longer, the church said on Saturday. A ‘spiritually safe climate’ for the believers could no longer be guaranteed. They now want to join the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople with their church, part of the Eastern Orthodox Church. The Archdiocese has not yet commented on the matter.

For the time being, no more services will be held in the Amsterdam church. “Safety considerations play a role in this,” the church said. Earlier this week, the entrance to the church was defaced with a large white Z, the symbol found on Russian military vehicles in Ukraine and used by supporters of the invasion.

This article is also part of our live blog: Clergy Russian Orthodox Church Amsterdam split off after ‘threat’

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