Greece: Clergymen who anathematized OCU do not belong to GOC

Metropolitan Seraphim of Piraeus. Photo: fanarion.blogspot.com

On March 25, 2021, the Metropolitanate of Piraeus of the Greek Orthodox Church declared that the priests Angelos Angelakopoulos and Matthew Vulcanescu, who anathematized Dumenko and the OCU, do not belong to the Church of Greece. The Metropolitan's response was published by fanarion.blogspot.com.

The metropolitanate claims that Protopresbyter Angelos Angelakopoulos moved from the Piraeus diocese to the Metropolitanate of Kithira, from where he left at the beginning of 2020 and is now a "private person".

Protopresbyter of Romanian origin Matthew Vulcanescu, according to the Metropolitan of Piraeus, went to the Archdiocese of Western Europe of the Russian Orthodox Church under the omophorion of Metropolitan John of Dubna and "announced that he would serve in Great Britain."

Consequently, according to the diocese of Piraeus, both priests do not belong to the Piraeus Metropolitanate of the Greek Church.

Earlier, the UOJ wrote that on March 21, 2021, on the Feast of the Triumph of Orthodoxy, the cleric of the Greek Church, Protopresbyter Angelos Angelakopoulos, anathematized the OCU and its leader Epiphany Dumenko.

Later it became known that Dumenko and the OCU were also anathematized by Protopresbyter Matthew Vulcanescu.

Both priests used to serve in the Metropolitanate of Piraeus, the head of which, Metropolitan Seraphim of Piraeus, is one of the most adamant opponents of the recognition of the OCU by the Church of Greece.

Metropolitan Seraphim believes that Epiphany Dumenko is a layman, while the head of the canonical Church in Ukraine is His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry.

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