Patriarch Kirill negatively assessed the prospects of the ecumenical movement

Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia made a statement in which he expressed pessimism about the future of the ecumenical movement aimed at rapprochement and unification of Christian denominations. According to him, at the current stage there are serious obstacles to further development of dialog in this direction.

According to the TASS news agency, the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church emphasized that the reason for this state of affairs is the fundamental differences in doctrine and moral positions between the churches. Patriarch Kirill noted that many Western Christian communities, in his opinion, have moved away from traditional biblical values, which makes it impossible to achieve true unity.

The ecumenical movement, which originated in the 20th century, aims to overcome historical schisms between various Christian denominations. The Russian Orthodox Church has participated in interfaith dialogues for many years, but has always emphasized the importance of preserving the dogmatic purity and inviolability of Orthodox teaching as the basis for any rapprochement.

«Of course, I have no particular optimism about the prospects for the further development of what has been called the ecumenical movement. But it seems to me that there is something that lies beyond our will, beyond our ability to influence the historical process — what you and I call the will of God. To change (the situation — note) so radically that we find and regain common spiritual and religious roots, and through this and trust in each other, most likely, it is possible only through some intervention of God Himself in the historical process. Because today this moral component has witnessed not just differences, but a certain cultural, as well as religious and spiritual abyss,» — said the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Recall, on July 20, during the Sunday service in St. George’s Church of the Patriarchate of Constantinople on Phanar, a curious event occurred. Roman Catholic Cardinal Joseph Tobin from the United States, at a certain moment of the service, read out the «Creed». Moreover, at the time of the incident, Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople was praying at the service, with whom, to all appearances, this situation had been previously agreed upon.