CHURCH OF UKRAINE: STOPS COMMEMORATION OF KIRILL, ASKS TO BE DEPRIVED OF THE PATRIARCHAL THRONE

 

The Council of Bishops of the Church of Ukraine, which met on Tuesday in its enlarged composition, chaired by Metropolitan Epifaniy of Kyiv and All Ukraine, took important decisions.

In particular, the Council of Bishops of the Church of Ukraine reaffirmed the Church’s desire and readiness to engage in a dialogue aimed at achieving the unity of Orthodoxy in Ukraine, on the basis of the Tomos of Autocephaly.

It decided to stop the commemoration in the Diptychs of the name of Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, because of his acceptance of the Russian attack against Ukraine as well as the promotion of the ideology of the “Russian world”, which “falls within the definition of the heresy of ethno-racialism”.

It also asks Metropolitan Epifaniy to appeal to the Ecumenical Patriarch and the Primates of the Local Churches to bring Patriarch Kirill of Moscow to account and to deprive him of the Patriarchal throne for the propagation of heresy ethno-racial doctrine based on the ideology of the “Russian world”, as well as for the provocation of a schism in the Church, especially through the establishment of a “Russian Exarchate” in Africa, in the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Alexandria.

It calls on the state to continue “to fulfill its duty, which is to protect the religious community and the whole of society from hostile foreign influence, from attempts from abroad that, under the pretext of religious activity, interfere in the internal affairs of Ukraine, and to destroy the neo-imperial ideology. This obligation is particularly important in light of the use of religious bodies in Russia’s hybrid attack on Ukraine.”

The council expressed its heartfelt gratitude to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew for his visit to Kyiv in August 2021, as well as to the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Patriarchate of Alexandria, and the Churches of Cyprus and Greece, for their support during the trial of war.

Finally, the council prayed in particular for the Ukrainian soldiers who are defending the country from the Russian attack, as well as for the civilians who are affected by the hostile attacks, for the refugees and the displaced.

orthodox times