UOC hierarch tells Turkish media about the role of Phanar head in fomenting church conflict in Ukraine

The hierarch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Luke of Zaporizhzhia and Melitopol, spoke on the Turkish TV channel Ulusal about the role of Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople in inciting religious hatred in Ukraine. The hierarch noted that for the entire period of confrontation between the UOC and the OCU in Ukraine, the head of Phanar has never properly responded to the actions of his wards from the OCU, thus condoning their aggression against the UOC. The interview was posted on the YouTube channel Ulusal Channel.

“I want to note that the canonicity of the UOC is recognized by the entire Orthodox world. Therefore, the question arises: how can Patriarch Bartholomew lead the situation to peace if he, by his illegal decision to create a structure recognized by only four Greek Churches, sharply exacerbated the existing conflicts in the church environment of Ukraine and created a threat of destruction of the UOC? In general, by these actions, he caused a crisis in world Orthodoxy. As I said, the head of Phanar could have tamed his supporters in Ukraine long ago. However, nothing is happening. On the contrary, for all these years, representatives of the Phanar-controlled religious structure have been slandering, slandering, labeling us “spies” and “agents of the Kremlin”, using all the information resources at their disposal to conduct a fierce campaign of discredit and discrimination against the UOC. Thus, they incite enmity and hatred in society against us, creating conditions for violating our rights and conducting open persecution against us,” — said Metropolitan Luke.

Earlier, the hierarch of the UOC, Metropolitan Theodosius of Cherkasy and Kaniv, appealed to the head of the Church of Constantinople, Patriarch Bartholomew, to consider the Ukrainian church issue at the pan-Orthodox level. The bishop is convinced that the recognition of Ukrainian schismatics and the granting of the Tomos of autocephaly to them was a fatal mistake that could split world Orthodoxy.