Constantinopolitan Exarchate leaders in Western Europe are against services celebrated by a Russian Orthodox priest in Biarritz

The leaders of the exarchate for Russian parishes in Western Europe (Patriarchate of Constantinople) have accused the ruling bishop of the diocese of the Russian Church in France, Archbishop Innokenty of Korsun, of interference into the affairs of the parish in Biarritz.

Last Sunday, a priest of the Korsun diocese celebrated at the hall arranged for the purpose by parishioners near Biarritz. In response to this, the exarchate council stated that the parish in Biarritz was not canonically subjected to Archbishop Innokenty.

‘We are accused of seeking to take care of the souls of people who have been entrusted to our care by God. On our part, we would like to emphasize that the Exarchate of Constantinople has no pastoral monopoly in Western Europe and the Russian Church will continue taking pastoral care of the flock who seek unity with the Mother Church,’ a source in the Korsun diocese said to Interfax.

The members of the parish who were deprived of their church after a minority of the community disagreed with the decision of the parish meeting to join the Moscow Patriarchate and appealed against this decision to court, have re-affirmed their desire to continue building the life of the community.

As a result of court hearings, the decision of the community to move to the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate was reversed and the church was handed over to representatives of the Patriarchate of Constantinople community.

Meanwhile, according to the agency’s source, the community of the Moscow Patriarchate appealed against the court decision and anyway ‘it was only an administrative decision that does not concern the pastoral care of the Orthodox believers.’

From the Interfax news agency