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24 March 2022, 21:22The Moscow Patriarchate has established a department for dioceses in neighboring countries
Moscow, March 24, Interfax – A department for dioceses in neighboring countries will appear in the Moscow Patriarchate, the Holy Synod decided at a meeting on Thursday.
The initiator of the creation of such a department was Patriarch Kirill. Metropolitan Pavel of Krutitsky and Kolomna, the patriarch's vicar of the Moscow Metropolitanate, was entrusted to lead the department.
Until now, Metropolitan Pavel has supervised parishes near Moscow and was the rector of the Russian Orthodox University. Before that, he led the Belarusian Orthodox Church, and even earlier - the Ryazan Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Currently, there is one autonomous Orthodox Church in the former USSR (in Ukraine), an exarchate in Belarus, three non-autonomous Churches in the Baltic States, two metropolitan districts (in Kazakhstan and Central Asia), a diocese in Azerbaijan, etc. All of them are in canonical subordination to Moscow, but they have different degrees of autonomy, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church has the greatest independence of them.
The Synod members also supported the Patriarch's call to strengthen prayer for the speedy restoration of peace and decided to "invoke God's blessing on all workers to help refugees and injured civilians left in the conflict zone, as well as on donating funds and necessary items." |
