Lavrov blamed US policy for the crisis in Orthodoxy

by time news

Washington is directly involved in the crisis in which Orthodoxy finds itself today, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said. According to the minister, a special mechanism was activated for this in the person of the special representative for freedom of religion.

“The United States directly had a hand in the current crisis in Orthodoxy, they formed a special mechanism – a special representative for freedom of religion, who in fact was not engaged in freedom, but actively set up and financed Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople so that he would pursue a line towards a split, including in Ukraine first of all. On the creation of a schismatic non-canonical Orthodox Church of Ukraine there, which caused serious disagreements in the whole Orthodox world,” the minister said at a press conference following the activities of Russian diplomacy in 2021.

“Unfortunately, the Greek churches are under enormous pressure, including, as far as I understand, pressure from the Greek government,” Lavrov also said. He noted that the state should not interfere in church affairs. According to the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry, if it is possible to agree with the authorities of those countries where there are Orthodox churches, not to interfere with their existence in accordance with their canons, this will be the best contribution of diplomacy to freedom of religion.

Recall that at the end of 2018, the “Unifying Council of Ukrainian Orthodoxy” was held in Kiev. Its participants decided to create a Ukrainian church independent of the Moscow Patriarchate. Metropolitan of the schismatic UOC of the Kiev Patriarchate Epiphany was elected head of the new Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC).

For more information about Sergey Lavrov’s press conference, see Our Patience Has Come to an End.

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