Expert: crazy initiative of Verkhovna Rada to appeal to Phanar could not succeed

An appeal of deputies of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to the Patriarch of Constantinople on the autocephalous status of the Ukrainian Church looked an amazing impertinence in the eyes of the Phanar, said analyst of the Kiev Center for Political and Conflict Studies Andrei Vidishenko to a UOJ correspondent.

"A crazy initiative of the VRU to appeal to the Phanar in the form of a draft resolution № 4793 could not succeed and didn’t succeed. In the eyes of the Phanar, as I understand it, it looked an amazing impertinence. In particular, the representative of the Ecumenical Patriarchate Fr. Alexandros Karloutsos expressed his view on the matter, stating that the Ecumenical Patriarch only recognizes Patriarch Kirill as the spiritual head of All Russia, including Ukraine," stressed the expert.

"Of course, interesting is the political motivation of such statements of the official Constantinople. Given the dependence of some specific structures of the Phanar on Ankara, in particular on the Diyanet – the Turkish Directorate for Religious Affairs, the motivation of such statements of Constantinople can be also considered in the light of the recent apology of Erdogan and his attempts of reconciliation with the Russian Federation," explained the analyst.

"Undoubtedly, it will be a cold shower for radical fighters with national and spiritual identity of their own people in the walls of the Ukrainian parliament," concluded Vidishenko.

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