Cypriot Primate accuses ROC of interfering in church affairs of Ukraine

Archbishop Chrysostomos and Patriarch Bartholomew. Photo: romfea.gr

Archbishop Chrysostomos of Cyprus, in the letter addressed to the head of the Phanar, accused the Russian Church of interfering in the church affairs of Ukraine, reports the publication "Romfea".

In a letter, Archbishop Chrysostomos told Patriarch Bartholomew that due to ill-health, he could not continue to meet with other Primates of Local Orthodox Churches on the Ukrainian issue.

The Archbishop of Cyprus also emphasizes: "And if I have maintained a neutral stance on the Ukrainian, I have done so with the desire to instill the same mindset in all the Prelate and beloved brethren in Christ, so that I may play a conciliatory role for the sake of unity."

The head of the Cypriot Church, among other things, states that "after much prayer and meditation," he decided "to commemorate the new Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church" Epiphany Dumenko.

He explained that periodic disagreements over "the alleged intervention of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Ukraine through the bestowal of the Tomos of autocephaly bypassing the rest (Local Churches – Ed.) are invalid as the protesters are the first violators."

Archbishop Chrysostomus called on other Orthodox Churches to “adhere to church decrees and decisions taken from time to time,” and stated that, with the exception of the four Middle Eastern Churches, “which are apostolic and do not need the Tomos for their autocephaly, all other Local Churches owe their autocephaly to the Tomos which is granted to them by the Ecumenical Patriarchate and which defines their borders."

“Each Local Orthodox Church shall remain within its borders and not interfere by ordaining bishops in the provinces of another Local Orthodox Church,” the hierarch noted.

Archbishop Chrysostom also spoke about “arbitrary interference by the Russian Church within the borders of another local church (in Georgia, Ukraine, Poland, Romania)”, which does not justify its protests that the Ecumenical Patriarchate is interfering in its internal affairs.

As reported earlier the ROC recalled the stance of the Cypriot Primate on the OCU before the Tomos was granted – in  2018 he promised with all his might to support the position of the ROC on the issue of the so-called autocephaly in Ukraine.

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