Head of Phanar "fraternally" urges Patriarch Kirill to give up the throne
Patriarch Bartholomew said he painfully accepts the fact that the Russian Orthodox Church has submitted to the Russian Federation's political ambitions.
Commenting on the position of Patriarch Kirill in relation to the war in Ukraine, the head of the Church of Constantinople, Patriarch Bartholomew, said that it is better to step down than to support the war, The Pillar reports.
In an interview with the publication, Patriarch Bartholomew noted that “What is still more painful to us is the fact that the Patriarchate of Moscow has stooped to the level of submitting to political ambitions of the Russian Federation.”
“We have repeatedly condemned the aggression and violence, just as we have fervently and fraternally appealed to the Patriarch of Moscow that he separate himself from political crimes, even if it means stepping down from his throne,” the Patriarch of Constantinople emphasized.
Earlier, the UOJ wrote that, according to the head of the Phanar, the words of Patriarch Kirill that those who died in the war will enter the Kingdom of God as martyrs do not correspond to the Orthodox doctrine.