US Ambassador to Greece concerned about "efforts to reverse Tomos for OCU"

US Ambassador to Greece Geoffrey Pyatt. Photo: politeka.net

US Ambassador to Greece Geoffrey Pyatt said that Russia is trying to reverse the Tomos for the OCU, reports the official website of the embassy.

“ the United States remains concerned that Moscow continues to try to foment instability and undermine the sovereignty of independent Orthodox-majority nations, including its efforts to reverse the Ecumenical Patriarch’s historic grant of Tomos to the Church of Ukraine,” Payette said.

According to the Ambassador, the situation in Ukraine is one of the major aspects of the relationship between the Patriarch of Constantinople and the United States.

“In October, the Ecumenical Patriarch also visited the United States for the first time in about a decade, where he met President Biden and Secretary of State Blinken, among many other American leaders.  The White House noted in its official readout from that visit that President Biden emphasized the importance of religious freedom as a fundamental human right, as well as his personal and decades-long friendship with the Patriarch.  And given the importance of developments in Ukraine, it is no surprise that those issues also figured prominently in the Ecumenical Patriarch’s conversations in Washington,” the American diplomat said.

Geoffrey Pyatt also expressed his opinion on the creation of the Patriarchal Exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church in Africa, confirming the ties between this event and the creation of the OCU.

“Most recently, on December 29, the Russian Orthodox Church announced the creation of its own patriarchal exarchate in Africa. Having severed ties with Alexandria and All Africa for supporting the autocephaly of the Church of Ukraine, the Russian authorities are currently pushing about 100 Orthodox clergy in Africa to join their exarchate and sign a pledge that says ‘we are not doing this in pursuit of financial gain’."

As reported, the head of the GOC spoke about cooperation with the US Ambassador on the issue of recognizing the OCU.

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