Patriarch Porfirije on Ukrainian issue: We're always on the side of canons

Serbian Patriarch Porfirije (Perić). Photo: video screenshot RTS Upitnik-Zvanični kanal

The Serbian Orthodox Church is always on the side of order and canons, while the actions of the Patriarchate of Constantinople in Ukraine "are not consistent with the tradition of the Church." The Primate of the SOC, Patriarch Porfirije (Perić), said this in an interview with the RTS channel on March 2, 2021.

Answering the question about the dispute that arose between Moscow and Phanar over the autocephaly of the OCU, the Serbian Patriarch noted that "our Church is often defined as the Church that sometimes supports, on the one hand, Moscow, and on the other hand, Constantinople."

“We are an autocephalous Church, which has its own internal order. All Orthodox Churches are our sister Churches. And in this case, as a matter of principle and always, we are on the side of the canons, on the side of order.

We believe that at the moment, regarding the actions of the Patriarchate of Constantinople in Ukraine, they are not consistent with the tradition of the Church, so in this sense, if you like, we can say that we are on the side of the Russian Church. In fact, we are on the side of order and on the side of the canons. And in this case, the Russian Church is de facto deprived of its rights,” stressed the Primate of the SOC.

As for the possible repetition of the Ukrainian scenario in other Churches, Patriarch Porfirije hopes that it will not come to this point. In his opinion, the situation in Ukraine has caused obvious "great upheavals in relations between the Local Churches," and "this will become a lesson to get everyone to sober up."

As the UOJ reported earlier, the ROC recalled the stance of the new Serbian Patriarch on the Ukrainian issue.

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