Met Kirill of Imbros: Tomos of Ohrid Archbishopric disgraces the Church

Metropolitan Kirill of Imbros. Photo: orthodoxianewsagency.gr

Metropolitan Kirill of Imbros and Tenedos stated that granting the Tomos of Autocephaly to the Ohrid Archbishopricthe by the Serbian Orthodox Church  is a disgrace to the Church, according to Orthodoxianewsagency.

He believes that before discussing autocephaly for the Ohrid Archbishopric, it is necessary for them to recognize the OCU. The Metropolitan of Imbros called it a great sin for Patriarch Porfirije to grant the Tomos to the Ohrid Archbishopric.

"He granted autocephaly. Autocephaly to whom? To the Church they kept isolated for more than 50-60 years, tortured it, slandered it, accused it, spoke the worst words about it, created another Church within this Church to control the situation, and when they saw that things were taking a different turn in relation to the Russian Church, unfortunately, the Serbs joined the Russian Church, became instruments of the Russian Church, and at the behest of the Russian Church committed this great sin by issuing this fake document on autocephaly."

Metropolitan Kirill stated that the Ohrid Archbishopric does not exist, it is a fake, and it is recognized only by Russians. In his opinion, its hierarchs did not understand the game that the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) is playing with the Serbs.

The hierarch recounted that Patriarch Bartholomew had been trying for years to find a solution to the issue of the Church of North Macedonia, offering negotiations, but the Serbs resisted this.

In conclusion, he added that there must first be recognition and liturgical service with the Orthodox Church of Ukraine: "Let the fifteenth Church be recognized so that we can move on to the sixteenth."

As reported by the UOJ, on August 25, 2022, the ROC Synod made the decision to "recognize the Macedonian Orthodox Church - Ohrid Archbishopric as an autocephalous Sister Church, inscribing the name of its Primate, His Beatitude Archbishop Stefan of Ohrid and Macedonia, into the sacred diptychs."

Read also