ROC rep: Pat Bartholomew promised not to interfere in Ukraine and deceived
Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeyev). Photo: news.ru
On January 26, 2021, the chairman of the ROC DECR, Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeyev) of Volokolamsk, in an exclusive interview with the Greek edition “Romfea”, said that shortly before the Council of Crete held in 2016, Patriarch Bartholomew promised not to interfere in the religious situation in Ukraine but did not keep his promise.
According to Metropolitan Hilarion, “in 2016 at the Synaxis of the Primates in Chambesy, Patriarch Bartholomew publicly, in front of all delegations of the Local Churches, said: “We recognize Metropolitan Onuphry and greet him as the only canonical hierarch of our Orthodox Church in Ukraine, together with holy bishops under him’".
Metropolitan Hilarion especially emphasized that “Patriarch Bartholomew also promised not to interfere in church affairs in Ukraine either before or after the Council. We believed these words. We thought: since the Ecumenical Patriarch says so, let us really, as he promises us, hold a Council, and after that, we will continue to discuss the topic of autocephaly. We shouldn’t have trusted him, he deceived us. That was our big mistake,” resumed Metropolitan Hilarion.
Earlier, the UOJ wrote that the head of the DECR MP said that the schism in Orthodoxy was inspired by the US authorities.
Read also
Hryshchuk: If UOC hands over its church itself, angle grinders aren't needed
An OCU chaplain called on UOC believers to accept the loss of the shrine for the sake of their own "enlightenment".
18th-century gates of Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra presented in London
State art historians have identified masterpieces by Kyiv goldsmiths in London.
In mosque, OCU "bishop" and DESS experts dine at iftar during Ramadan
At an iftar in Kyiv, authors of expert assessments against the UOC were awarded Islamic orders in the presence of the deputy head of DESS and a "hierarch" of Dumenko's structure.
Shevchuk tells Budanov of UGCC’s “state-building role”
The head of the Uniates told the head of the Presidential Office that his Church was ready to partner with the state and presented him with a book on the work of special services in the Church.
Authorities decline to disclose Ukraine’s population size
The State Statistics Service acknowledged that it has up-to-date population estimates for the country, but has decided not to make them public.
Lithuanian govt vows to protect Orthodox Church from Russian intelligence
Lithuania’s Foreign Ministry has called for curbing the influence of Russian intelligence services on the Church, while an adviser to President Nausėda warned against labeling the entire structure a security threat.