Zoria says why the Church of Antioch did not recognize the OCU

Spokesman of the OCU Ivan (Eustratiy) Zoria stated that the Church of Antioch did not recognize the OCU allegedly because of the financial issue and the pressure exerted by Russia. He stated this in an interview with orthodoxtimes.

Zoria noted that in the margins of the 11th Assembly of the World Council of Churches, he met with the Patriarch of Antioch and had "a friendly discussion for several minutes."

According to the spokesman of the OCU, the Patriarchate of Antioch supposedly depends on financial issues.

“For Patriarch John, it is more important for his Patriarchate to survive <...>. I think that the internal problems in the Patriarchate of Antioch are so great, and the Patriarch understands that the unity of his Church is at greater risk,” Zoria said and added “the money unfortunately did and does a lot.”

Earlier, the Patriarch of Antioch stated that the recognition of the OCU is unwarrantable, while its creation is a threat to the unity of the Orthodox world.

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