"If they want autocephaly, let them recognize the OCU" - the hierarch of the Phanar about the Macedonian Church

Metropolitan Kyrillos of Imvros, the hierarch of the so-called dual subordination of the Churches of Constantinople and Hellas, has said that Ukraine is the only open issue standing in the way of the Tomos on the autocephaly of the Macedonian Orthodox Church (Ohrid Archdiocese). The Archbishop stressed that the key obstacle to the recognition of the autocephaly of the MOC by the Patriarchate of Constantinople, is the attitude of the Church Skopje to the OCU. He said in an interview with the channel «360 Stepeni».

«Let me also tell what I doubt whether people here know about. The Church of Ukraine, Epiphanius officially recognized the canonicity of the Church of Ohrid (MOC, — ed.) and wrote a letter of congratulations to Stephen. And, instead of writing him at least a simple «thank you», the next day they made a decision: «We don’t love them, we don’t recognize them, we don’t sympathize with them.» Why? Because the Russians and Serbs threatened them: if you recognize Ukraine, you will break relations with us. So, give the archbishop and bishops of Ohrid the task of proving whether they are an autocephalous church. If they really want to become an autocephalous church, they should recognize the Church of Ukraine and ignore the threats of Russia and Serbia», — Metropolitan Kirill of the Patriarchate of Constantinople said.

It should be noted that this is not the first attack by Metropolitan of Imvros on the Macedonian Orthodox Church. Earlier we reported that the above-mentioned hierarch of the Phanar criticized the Tomos on the autocephaly of the Macedonian Orthodox Church received from the Serbian Church, calling it «a shame and a provocation».