Phanar has different visions of Ukrainian issue, – Fr. Nikolai Danilevich

Deputy Head of the UOC DECR Protopriest Nikolai Danilevich

The hierarchy of the Constantinople Patriarchate has different visions of the solution of the Ukrainian church issue, said the Deputy Head of the UOC DECR, Protopriest Nikolai Danilevich.

He stated this on his Facebook page, commenting on the interview of the Phanar representative, Metropolitan Elpidophoros.

" Metropolitan Elpidophoros of Prussia among the hierarchy of the Patriarchate of Constantinople occupies the position of the "hawk" in the Ukrainian church issue," the representative of the UOC noted. "However, as far as I know, he is the only one there. There are, of course, several other bishops who think similarly, but not so radically, and do not speak out so sharply."

According to Protopriest Nikolai, the interview of Metropolitan Elpidophoros reflects the point of view of the radical party of Phanar.

"However, most of the hierarchy do not belong to this party and do not speak out so radically against the ROC in general and on the topic of Ukraine in particular," the priest said.

Fr. Nikolai Danilevich cited, as an example, the recent words of Metropolitan Ambrose of Korea, a member of the Synod of the Constantinople Patriarchate, stressing that Metropolitan Elpidophoros is not a member of the Phanar Commission on the Ukrainian question.

"It is possible that this is due to his too much radicalism on this issue, which can only do harm," explained the Deputy Head of the UOC DECR. "Instead, the Commission includes such reasonable hierarchs as the Metropolitan Emmanuel of Gali and Metropolitan Bartholomew of Smyrna."

In Fr. Nikolai’s opinion, a careful balance and discretion are sound judgment is needed especially in church affairs, but not only in church affairs, and therefore any radicalism only harms.

"Thus, we can state that the hierarchy of the Patriarchate of Constantinople has no single vision and a unified position on the method of solving the Ukrainian church issue," the deputy head of the UOC DECR stressed.

At the same time, Protopriest Nikolai Danilevich does not believe that it goes to a schism, to some great pan-Orthodox crisis.

"Knowing the situation from the inside, I do not have that feeling. All that we see in the media on the church theme is more like a theatre, a fuss. And this concerns the external life of the Church, which they are trying to shake. Inside, in the depths, the church sea is calm, the church waters flow calmly," concluded the deputy head of the UOC DECR.

Earlier, Patriarch Kirill met with representatives of Phanar in Moscow.

In mid-April, Poroshenko turned to Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople with a request to grant the Tomos on autocephaly to the Church in Ukraine and announced the creation of the Single Local Church. The Verkhovna Rada supported the President’s appeal.

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