DECR MP Chairman: Phanar Head is either incompetent or deliberately lying

Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk. Photo: 2000.ua

The Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Russian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeyev) of Volokolamsk, commented on the words of Patriarch Bartholomew in a recent interview in which the head of the Phanar slashed the ROC, Patriarchia.ru reports.

“It's deplorable that Patriarch Bartholomew keeps on saying things that do not correspond to reality – either he is not competent in the issues he discusses or tells deliberate lies. Or, perhaps, the advisers provide him with the information that does not correspond to reality,” said Metropolitan Hilarion.

In particular, the head of the DECR responded to the statement that the Russian Orthodox Church in Abkhazia has a bishop. “This is not true – just look at the calendar of the Russian Church, and you will see that we do not have a bishop in Abkhazia either nominally or actually. Not a single Russian bishop, as far as I know, has even appeared in Abkhazia over the past many years. Why tell a lie, especially since it is very easy to refute it with facts?" Vladyka noted, adding that any attempts to accuse the ROC of interfering in the affairs of the Georgian Church are a lie.

Metropolitan Hilarion also concluded that Patriarch Bartholomew "made a very big mistake by granting autocephaly to the schismatics in Ukraine and is now looking for arguments to justify his lawless and anti-canonical deed."

Earlier, the head of the DECR MP said that attempts to implement the papist model by Patriarch Bartholomew resulted in a split in World Orthodoxy.

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