Drabinko angry at Cyprus Church urging to return temples to UOC believers

Metropolitan Alexander (Drabinko) banned from priesthood. Photo: LIGA.net

Alexander (Drabinko), the former metropolitan of Pereyaslav-Khmelnitsky and Vishnevoye, said that he considered the words of the Metropolitan Isaiah of Tamasos that the UOC believers need to be returned their temples and Europeans are ready to collect signatures for the UOC believers as “another provocation”. He wrote about this on his Facebook page but later deleted the message.

“Maybe something is wrong with my memory? Or Orthodox Cyprus today has no confessional problems (I won’t perk my finger in them ...) what are our state bodies thinking? I just fancy the statements Cypriots would make if the Ukrainian bishop declared the claims of Muslims in Cyprus! And even more, if he made an appeal to the authorities of Cyprus on this matter! It’s a kind of another provocation!!!”

Two hours earlier, the current “hierarch” of the OCU wrote another post on his Facebook page, in which he spoke about the initiative of the Cyprus Church to collect signatures in Europe in defense of the UOC. However, this message was later deleted.

According to Metropolitan Alexander, “If Cypriots collect votes in Europe and it will probably have some kind of (public-theoretical) value, then why should the Ukrainian people not take a decision in the referendum – which church should be in Ukraine – the Moscow Patriarchate or the Orthodox Church of Ukraine?”

He also believes that it would be possible to conduct a corresponding survey in Europe: “The policy of double standards is amazing! Well, I think it would also be possible to conduct a survey in Europe regarding the question put on the agenda. I wonder how many Europeans are for Moscow in Europe?”

At the same time, Metropolitan Alexander calls on the Foreign Ministry of Ukraine to respond to the statement of the representative of the Church of Cyprus: “Where is our Foreign Ministry and its response? Is the Ukrainian Church separated from the state, but it turns out to be in Europe?”

Also, the “hierarch” of the OCU asks the question “who allocates money for collecting signatures?”

Earlier, Metropolitan Isaiah of Tamassos of the Cyprus Orthodox Church appealed to the leadership of Ukraine to return seized churches to the UOC believers and promised that the Orthodox Christians of Europe would appeal to the European Court to restore justice.

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