Metropolitan of Corfu: Visit and Concelebration in Moscow took place with the permission of the Holy Synod

By Metropolitan Nektarios of Corfu, Paxos and Diapontian Islands

Upon our return to Greece, following the transfer to Russia of the venerable relic of the right hand of Saint Spyridon for veneration by the devout Russian people, we consider it necessary, by way of an initial account, to set down some of our thoughts and impressions, while also providing certain necessary clarifications regarding matters which, as we have been informed, were circulated and published in recent days, sometimes in good faith, sometimes out of ignorance, and sometimes out of bad faith and malice, which, as a Bishop of the Orthodox Church, we both forgive and choose to pass over.

1. The invitation we received from the Church of Russia on January 10, 2026, initially concerned the transfer of the holy relic for veneration in the Metropolis of Astana and Kazakhstan from September 14 to 30, 2026. For this reason, on March 24, 2026, we submitted the relevant document to our superior ecclesiastical authority, the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece. The transfer was approved by a document issued by the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece on May 5, 2026.

On June 22, 2026, a new letter was sent by the…