Greek hierarch: We deeply respect Metropolitan Onuphry

Metropolitan Onuphry. Photo: UOJ

Metropolitan Seraphim of Kythira (Church of Greece) expressed deep respect for the Primate of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church and at the same time declared his complete non-recognition of the head of the schismatic OCU, reports UOJ in Greece.

"We deeply respect him, and I commemorate him with all my heart," said the hierarch in an interview with the outlet Vima Orthodoxias.

Commenting on the UOC persecution, Metropolitan Seraphim noted that he grieves over these events.

"When I learn about this, my soul suffers, and the heart of every Orthodox person suffers. This is barbarism, these are disgusting actions. They are not Christians. They are not people. They are nothing at all, those who treat Orthodox believers so cruelly, the Orthodox Canonical Church of Ukraine under the leadership of His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry", emphasized the hierarch.

"May God grant that this drama of the Ukrainian people comes to an end. A terrible drama," emphasized Metropolitan Seraphim.

In the same interview, the hierarch categorically stated his position regarding the head of the OCU Epifaniy Dumenko.

"I personally do not commemorate Epifaniy. I think many do not commemorate him. He entered the diptychs, but I personally do not accept this," said the hierarch. Moreover, the Metropolitan of Kythira went further: "I do not commune with those who have concelebrated with him. I do not want to concelebrate, because I consider this uncanonical, and you see the results now».

The hierarch said that he took this position back in 2018-2019, when he was a synodal metropolitan.

"We regularly discussed this at the Permanent Holy Synod. All of us there expressed our concern about what was to happen: granting autocephaly to to unordained, schismatic, and anathemaed individuals. We discussed this throughout the entire year,” he recalled.

Earlier, UOJ wrote that Metropolitan Seraphim of Kythira called the recognition of the OCU by the Church of Greece a crime.

Read also