We would like to point out that we recently reported that Greek church media criticized Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem. The reason was the disagreement between the head of the Jerusalem Church and Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople on a number of fundamental issues, including the recognition of the Ukrainian schism. Patriarch Theophilos was also reminded of the Amman Council, accusing him of excessive adherence to the Moscow Patriarchate.
Patriarch Daniel of Bulgaria stated that there are significant canonical obstacles to recognizing the OCU
Patriarch Daniel of Bulgaria commented on the situation around the Ukrainian church conflict and the topic of the establishment of the OCU, pointing out that there are «significant canonical obstacles» to its recognition. According to him, the majority of Local Orthodox Churches have not recognized this structure, and the church issue in Ukraine is closely linked to geopolitical conflicts. He said this in an interview with Bulgarian journalist Martin Karbovski.
The Primate of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church stressed that «11 out of 15 Orthodox Churches have not recognized the church structure, which was created by the Patriarch of Constantinople». He also noted that the rupture of eucharistic communion between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Patriarchate of Constantinople occurred «because of the interference of the Patriarchate of Constantinople in the affairs of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.»
According to Patriarch Daniel, the Bulgarian Church has maintained communion with both sides to help resolve the conflict, and sees the connection between the church problem and the geopolitical situation. «We have not interrupted communion, and I think this is a reasonable approach — so that the geopolitical dispute and the war in Ukraine finally found a peaceful solution and the church issue is resolved,» he said.
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