Andrey Kuraev: Phanar's logic is controversial and leads to no unity
The statements of Constantinople on the ecclesiastical issue in Ukraine completely disregard the variety of attitudes in the country, believes Protodeacon Andrey Kuraev.
The logic of the statements of the Patriarchate of Constantinople is quite conflicting, theologian Andrey Kurayev, a theologian and protodeacon, said in an interview with Ekho Moskvy (Echo of Moscow), commenting on the statement of Archbishop Job (Getcha) of Telmessos, in which the Phanar hierarch affirms that all hierarchs in Ukraine are now "de facto" subordinate to Constantinople.
“There is certain logic about this, only this logic is completely controversial in this situation and it will not lead to unity,” Father Andrey said. “It does not take into account the real diversity of attitudes in this country, so this logic is more like about war, not peace, in this case. It was surprising why the Constantinople court was silent for all the two months of the conflict, not giving any official comments. Then one of them came out and spoke up. He was speaking so that he’d better have been really silent. This is the very case when if one had been silent, he would have passed for a smart one.”
At the same time, the theologian is convinced that civil consensus in Ukraine is possible only if “there is no mutual accusation”.
Earlier, Archbishop Job (Getcha) of Telmessos reported that the Church of the Moscow Patriarchate no longer exists in Ukraine, and the hierarchs of Ukraine are in fact the hierarchs of the Ecumenical Throne. The UOC called the statements of the Phanar’s hierarch "canonical surrealism."
