President on the decision of the Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church: The reaction of Russian spiritual and secular authorities shows that Ukraine is on the right track
www.president.gov.ua | 16 October 2018 - 12:39
President on the decision of the Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church: The reaction of Russian spiritual and secular authorities shows that Ukraine is on the right track
In a meeting with the Exarchs of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Ukraine - Bishop Ilarion of Edmonton and the Western Eparchy of the UOC in Canada and Archbishop Daniel of Pamphylia and the Western Eparchy of the UOC in the United States of America, President Petro Poroshenko once again thanked for the decision of the Holy Synod to provide autocephaly to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
"At the same time, at the behest of the Kremlin, the leadership of the aggressor country, the Russian completely dependent church authorities declared they will break off the Eucharistic communion with the Constantinople Mother Church. I am sure that such a reaction of the spiritual and secular Russian authorities, as well as of the church leadership completely dependent on the Russian authorities only confirms that we are on the right track," the Head of State emphasized.
The President added: "Just as Russia has now opposed itself to the whole world in the issues of Russian aggression in the east of our state, illegal annexation of Crimea, position on Abkhazia and South Ossetia, position on Transnistria and the rest, unfortunately, the Russian Church has also set itself on the path of self-isolation and conflict with the whole world Orthodoxy".
"I hoped this would not happen, but we should have been prepared for this process," he said. The President recalled that almost simultaneously with the meeting of the Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, on October 14, more than 30,000 Ukrainians took part in a grateful prayer on St. Sophia’s Square for the fact that the Lord provided autocephaly with the hands of His All-Holiness.
"I think it's like two worlds: one for peace, with prayer to God, and another for conflict, for confrontation. I firmly believe that our efforts are grateful, needed by my country and my people, because an attempt to close the doors of the temples to the faithful Ukrainians or even to Orthodox all over the world is definitely ungrateful and wrong thing, which the Russian Orthodox Church is now trying to offer," the Head of State stressed.
He added: "Maybe I should not say that, but I was very disappointed by the vote of two Ukrainian representatives. I am sure that we must search for peace and exactly the way October 14th passed - the Day of the Defender of Ukraine, the Day of Pokrova, when the Ukrainian political forces and the entire Ukrainian people, on the contrary, united and did not fall for Moscow’s provocation. For they were so impatient waiting for someone to storm the temples, that there would be fights somewhere. They even prepared their "titushky", which were supposed to play this role". According to the President, the Lord ensured that everything happened, happens and will happen in a completely peaceful way.
"For our part, we will do everything we can so that the efforts aimed to create the Autocephalous Orthodox Church in accordance with the decisions of the Synod, the Mother Church and the Ecumenical Patriarch are made in due time, peacefully and in line with the expectations of the Ukrainian people," the Head of State summed up.
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