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“Mother of God, save Kievan Rus in the Holy Orthodoxy!” The icon of Mother of God “Indestructible Wall” or “Unmovable Wall”. Mosaic. The Holy Sophia Cathedral in Kiev.
The Russian Orthodox Church is deeply concerned “over the anti-canonical actions” made by the hierarchs of the Patriarchate of Constantinople’s Ukrainian church structures in the USA and Canada, – website of the Department of the External Church Relations reports.
On the instruction of Patriarch Kirill, Metropolitan Hilarion, the Head of the Department of the External Church Relations (DECR), expressed the Russian Orthodox Church’s concerns at the 5th Pan-Orthodox Pre-Council Conference in Chambesy near Geneva.
He explained that the mentioned hierarchs arrived to Ukraine allegedly on behalf of the Patriarch of Constantinople, without informing about it the canonical Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. They came into contact with the schismatics, declared the alleged readiness of the Patriarchate of Constantinople to grant autocephaly to the schismatics, challenged the Patriarchate of Constantinople’s universally recognized canonical acts of the past centuries, accepted with honour the persons defrocked and excommunicated from the Church, letting them ‘celebrate’ in their churches and praying together with them.
“We ask the Patriarchate of Constantinople to give an assessment to these anti-canonical actions and oblige these hierarchs to stop such actions that destroy our pan-Orthodox unity,” – Metropolitan Hilarions stated.
The head of the Russian Orthodox Church’s delegation expressed hope that, despite the existing difficulties, the participants in the Conference will be able, “in the spirit of fraternal unanimity and cooperation”, to prepare the Pan-Orthodox Council at a time when Orthodoxy “needs it so much.”