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25 November 2020, 18:45Russian Orthodox Church appreciates Cypriot bishops who refuse to recognize new church of Ukraine
Moscow, November 25, Interfax - The Russian Orthodox Church appreciates the actions of those members of the Synod of the Church of Cyprus who have spoken out against recognizing Yepifaniy (Dumenko), the head of the non-canonical new church of Ukraine (OCU), which the Moscow Patriarchate considers non-canonical.
According to earlier reports, a communique on the recognition of the OCU was adopted by the Synod of the Orthodox Church of Cyprus on Wednesday. The document was backed by ten bishops, seven voted against it.
On October 24, the head of the Orthodox Church of Cyprus mentioned the head of the OCU among the heads of autocephalous Orthodox Churches during a liturgy held in the Chrysoroyaiatissa Monastery near Pathos, which de facto means recognition of this non-canonical religious organization.
"As we see from the communique released today, some bishops of the Orthodox Church of Cyprus agreed to support the primate in this action, and the others categorically rejected him, following the holy canons and their consciences as bishops. These hierarchs have found themselves in a difficult situation. There is no doubt that they want to keep the unity of their own local Church, to keep the peace among their brothers. But faithfulness to the Holy Scripture and commitment to canonical rules do not allow them to participate in the remembrance of a schismatic and the recognition of a 'church' whose self-proclaimed leaders do not have lawful ordination," Metropolitan Hilarion, the head of the Department for External Church Relations of the Russian Orthodox Church, said in a commentary.
He said he believes the decision made by the Cypriot Synod shows a further schism in global Orthodoxy, which he blamed on Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople. The Russian Orthodox Church official said the Cypriot bishop made the decision to remember in prayer "the leader of a Ukrainian schismatic group" under pressure from the Patriarch of Constantinople.
"I believe this deep crisis in the Orthodox world can only be resolved by returning to the canonical church system and Orthodox togetherness, which does not envisage the supremacy of power of any of the heads over the Ecumenical Church, which has been and is headed by our Lord Jesus Christ," he said. |
