Reactions of the Eastern Orthodox churches to the 2018 Moscow–Constantinople schism

The Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church convened on Tuesday to address the vacancy left by the passing of Patriarch Neophyte, who served as the spiritual leader of Bulgaria and Metropolitan of Sofia. According to reports from the Bulgarian National Radio, the Synod's primary agenda was the election of a temporary head to oversee the Church's affairs during this transition period.

The Russian Patriarch Kirill published condolences on the website of the Russian Orthodox Church yesterday evening regarding the passing of the Bulgarian Patriarch Neophyte.

The Bulgarian Orthodox Church faces a period of transition following the untimely death of Patriarch Neophyte. In an extraordinary meeting convened by the Holy Synod today, discussions centered on determining the temporary leadership of the church, as well as setting crucial dates for pilgrimage and burial arrangements for the late patriarch.

The status of Orthodox Christians around the world will improve in the relatively near future due to a recent profound expansion of the efforts of the Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.

Patriarch Porfirije will serve the holy bishop's liturgy at the seat of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the Patriarchate of Pec.
Patriarch will serve the morning liturgy, starting at eight o'clock, Tanjug was told in the Serbian Orthodox Church.
In the Church of St. Sava in Belgrade, the celebration of Christmas will begin with the service of the midnight liturgy.

Many Ukrainians will on Monday celebrate Christmas Day on Dec. 25 for the first time, after the government changed the date from the Orthodox Church observance of Jan. 7 in a snub to Russia.

Ukraine passed a law in July moving the celebration to Dec. 25, the day when most of the Christian world marks Christmas.

Bulgarian Patriarch Neophyte has been admitted to the Military Medical Academy due to a lung ailment, as confirmed by the office of the Holy Synod on the Bulgarian Orthodox Church's website.

Patriarch Neophyte has appointed priests from Sofia who will take over the usual services in the Church of St. Nicholas the Miracle-Maker, known as the Russian Church. This was announced by the Holy Synod.

The head of Cyprus' Orthodox Church Archbishop Georgios formally assumed his new duties Sunday following an enthronement ceremony evoking the splendor of centuries of Byzantine tradition before an audience of clergy from around the world with the notable exception of the Russian church.

By Evangelos Venizelos*

In the wake of the Russian attack and the war in Ukraine, the arguments heard in 2018-2019 regarding the granting of autocephaly [independence from the Moscow Patriarchate] to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine came to the surface once more, mainly due to a speech by Vladimir Putin.