Head of ROC thanks Orthodox Church in America for supporting UOC

Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus and Metropolitan Tikhon of All America and Canada. Photo: mospat.ru

On December 6, 2019, during the meeting at the Patriarchal residence in the Danilov Stauropegial Monastery in Moscow, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus expressed gratitude to the Primate of the Orthodox Church in America, Metropolitan Tikhon of All America and Canada, for his strong stand on the non-recognition of the OCU, RIA Novosti reports.

“I would like to thank you for your prayerful support of the suffering Ukrainian Orthodox Church, for your appeal to support His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry and the canonical Ukrainian Church, for the corresponding decision of the Synod of your Church. And I would especially like to emphasize your principled position regarding the non-recognition of the so-called OCU,” said the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church.

As the First Hierarch noted, despite the fact that the Orthodox world is currently experiencing difficult times in terms of developing inter-Orthodox relations, the Russian Church and the Orthodox Church in America are “in full cooperation and are unanimous on a number of issues being on the inter-Orthodox agenda today."

“I believe that the factor of our relations can have a positive impact on the general ties between Orthodox Churches,” the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church added.

In turn, the Metropolitan of America and Canada assured Patriarch Kirill of his support. “You can be sure that my fraternal prayers are always with you,” he said.

He also invited the Patriarch and representatives of the Moscow Patriarchate to the upcoming celebration of the 50th anniversary of the OCA autocephaly in 2020, noting that such a visit "will strengthen our relations."

As reported by the UOJ, the delegation of the OCA is visiting Moscow in light of the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the opening of the representative office of this Church in Moscow in the temple of Great Martyr Catherine in Vspolye. As it is known, the Orthodox Church in America received autocephaly from the Russian Orthodox Church in 1970.

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