Pat. Kirill discusses situation around UOC with delegates of Local Churches
Today we are facing open persecution of the canonical Orthodox Church in Europe, the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church said.
On January 31, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' discussed the religious situation in Ukraine with the delegations of the Local Orthodox Churches, which arrived in Moscow for celebrations on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of his enthronement, and told them about the “canonical confusion” on the Ukrainian land.
“False patriarch Filaret has the title of the ‘Patriarch of Kiev and All Rus-Ukraine’, and so does the elected Epiphany Dumenko, who calls himself ‘the Metropolitan of Kiev and All Rus-Ukraine’. Two ‘hierarchs’ claim the same title and belong to the same ‘Church’. This is nonsense. But this nonsense is sanctioned, including by the authority of the Constantinople Patriarchate,” the video channel of the official website of the Moscow Patriarchate on YouTube reports the words of the ROC Primate.
His Holiness noted that Patriarch Bartholomew’s actions violate the principle of equality of all Orthodox Churches and are more similar to the embodiment of the concept of "the first among unequals".
Patriarch Kirill also spoke about the actions of the Ukrainian state authorities, which not only replace the canonical Church with schismatics but also oppressed its clergy and laity in every possible way.
"In Europe, we are facing today open persecution of the canonical Orthodox Church," he told representatives of the Local Churches.
The Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church stressed that the Orthodox Churches of the whole world remain one family, where there is an opportunity to celebrate the Holy Eucharist and to respond to the challenges of modern society together.
“I believe that the Body of the Church of Christ will remain one,” concluded Patriarch Kirill.
On December 30, 2018, the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church wrote a letter to Patriarch Bartholomew in which he called on the head of the Church of Constantinople to withdraw from his contacts with schismatics.
On January 5, 2019, Patriarch Bartholomew granted the Tomos on autocephaly to the OCU. According to experts, by this, he gave carte blanche to the persecutors of the canonical Church.
