Patriarch Kirill: Only three Primates supported Phanar's interference in church life in Ukraine

Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia drew attention to the number of Local Churches that supported the intervention of the Patriarchate of Constantinople in the Ukrainian church issue. The Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church drew attention to the fact that only three Local Churches expressed support for the head of Phanar in the legalization of the Ukrainian schism and the creation of the OCU, while the majority opposes or refrains from expressing a public opinion on this issue. The words of the First Hierarch were reported by Sputnik TV channel.

«We are now facing a difficult problem — the interference of Phanar, the district of Constantinople where the Ecumenical Patriarchate is located, in the church life of Ukraine. All this has led to a crisis in our Orthodox relations. Three primates supported the actions of Constantinople on the territory of Ukraine. Unfortunately, this further aggravated the situation in world Orthodoxy. At the same time, the majority of Primates and hierarchs in the Orthodox world either oppose the non-canonical intervention of Constantinople or avoid publicly expressing their position on this issue,» said Patriarch Kirill.

His Holiness emphasized the special role of the Patriarchates of Jerusalem and Antioch in the issue of observance of the canonical order in the Church. At the same time, the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church expects that the newly elected Catholicos of All Georgia, whose election will take place in the near future, will follow the line of his predecessor on the Ukrainian church issue.

«Some churches do not support Phanar’s interference in the affairs of Ukraine. A special place is occupied by the Patriarchates of Antioch and Jerusalem. This position is of particular importance in the Orthodox world. The churches of Bulgaria and Albania, where new primates have recently been elected, have not changed their position on the Ukrainian issue. We hope that the same will happen in the Orthodox Church of Georgia, which will soon elect its new primate after the death of the late Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II in March of this year. What has been said about the complexity of relations between the Orthodox Churches on the Ukrainian issue would remain an internal church affair if it did not concern the rights of millions of Orthodox believers in Ukraine,» he added.

Earlier, we reported that the Polish Autocephalous Orthodox Church (PAOC) reaffirmed its position on the need to resolve the church conflict related to the creation of the OCU at the Pan-Orthodox Council.