Dumenko refers to Macedonian Church’s Tomos as "so-called"

Primate of the Macedonian Church, Archbishop Stefan. Photo: bnr

At a recent “bishop’s council,” the head of the OCU, Epiphany Dumenko, declared in his report that “a number of Local Churches are completely dependent in their position on instructions from the Moscow Patriarchate, and in many others there are hierarchs trying to expand the zone of Russian influence.”

According to Dumenko, “we absolutely cannot allow the situation with the Church in North Macedonia to be repeated with the Ukrainian Church.”

“It [the Macedonian Church], having received restoration of communion from the Ecumenical Patriarchate, soon entered an alliance with the Moscow Patriarchate and uncanonically accepted from the Serbian Patriarchate the so-called ‘Tomos,’” Dumenko stated. He did not explain exactly how the Macedonian Church supposedly entered an “alliance” with the ROC or why its Tomos was “uncanonical.”

Dumenko also stressed emotionally: “Perhaps some think we are naive and blind and don’t see how, under the guise of various initiatives, allies of the Moscow Patriarchate would like to undermine the real independence of our Local Church and its ability to resist the influence of ‘Russian World’ adherents.”

“They would like the Church of Ukraine to follow the North Macedonian path. But we understand these intentions, we oppose them, and we will continue to oppose them,” declared the OCU head – again without clarifying exactly what he meant.

It will be recalled that earlier the Macedonian Church refused to concelebrate with the OCU.

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