Head of the ROC DECR: Creation of OCU is the result of external pressure, revenge and ambitions of Patriarch Bartholomew

The head of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, Metropolitan Anthony (Sevriuk) of Volokolamsk, named three key motives behind the creation of the OCU by the head of Phanar. According to him, these are external pressure on Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, his personal resentment and sense of revenge, as well as «papist» ambitions.

In the Church and the World TV program, Metropolitan Anthony emphasized that the first motive is related to the «serious influence of the relevant curators» on Patriarch Bartholomew from the outside. This pressure, according to the head of the MP DECR, became one of the decisive factors in the process of forming the OCU.

The second motive, according to the hierarch, is rooted in the personal resentment of Patriarch Bartholomew. It is related to the organization of the Cretan Council, which was not attended by several Local Churches, including the Russian Church. «Patriarch Bartholomew — this is also no secret — was motivated by such an absolutely unchristian feeling as revenge, as he has stated many times,» the Metropolitan said. The Council could not take place in a full-fledged format because the problem of the lack of Eucharistic communion between the Patriarchates of Antioch and Jerusalem was not resolved at that time, which led to the refusal of a number of churches to participate.

«The Russian Church was the last of them. But nevertheless, for some reason, Patriarch Bartholomew decided that it was the Russian Orthodox Church that decided to disrupt the council, and even when this happened, he used the word ‘revenge,’» Metropolitan Anthony explained.

The third motive identified by the head of the ROC DECR is the «papist ambitions» of Patriarch Bartholomew. Metropolitan Anthony said that the Patriarch of Constantinople «began to consider himself a kind of pope of the Orthodox world, to assign himself some imaginary privileges.»

The bishop also noted that since the creation of the OCU, many Local Churches and bishops have repeatedly called for the convening of a Pan-Orthodox Council to discuss the Ukrainian church problem. However, according to the Metropolitan, the Patriarch of Constantinople has invariably refused such proposals.

«Any attempts and our numerous appeals to start a pan-Orthodox discussion of what is happening are sharply opposed by the Patriarch of Constantinople, who, of course, understands that if everyone gathers, he will have to answer very uncomfortable questions to which he most likely does not have the appropriate answers,» Metropolitan Volokolamsky concluded.

Earlier, we reported that the Holy Bishops’ Council of the Polish Autocephalous Orthodox Church, held on October 27 under the chairmanship of His Beatitude Metropolitan Sawa of Warsaw and All Poland, came up with an important initiative. After reviewing the current situation in world Orthodoxy, the hierarchs called for the convening of a Pan-Orthodox Council to overcome the existing divisions. The meeting also discussed internal issues, including the teaching of religion in schools and the activities of church structures.