The next round of the great church-political struggle is coming
After the creation of a church controlled by Istanbul in Kyiv in Ukraine, the Orthodox schism continues, which has now spread to the entire Orthodox world.
Nezavisimaya Gazeta writes about this, noting that after the proclamation of the so-called OCU in Ukraine, “an equilibrium system took shape.”
“In essence, there are two Kyiv metropolises, each associated with its own spiritual center. If earlier the UOC-MP regarded nationalist-minded opponents as schismatics, now they have received legal status thanks to the Patriarchate of Constantinople,” writes NG.
The price of all this, the publication continues, was the demarcation of Moscow and Constantinople, which had previously been in a situation of latent rivalry, and now this state has taken shape as a full-fledged schism with a break in Eucharistic communion.
“The next round of the great church-political struggle should consist of each of the patriarchates luring the remaining thirteen local Orthodox churches to its side. The world of Eastern Christianity seemed to stand still in anticipation. The creation of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine should be completed on January 6 in Istanbul, where Metropolitan Epiphany, accompanied by Poroshenko, will go to receive the tomos of Patriarch Bartholomew. According to the old style, this is Christmas Eve, and according to the New Julian calendar, according to which believers of the Patriarchate of Constantinople live, Epiphany is celebrated on this day.
For now, we can only talk about a more or less definite attitude towards the ongoing “game of thrones” on the part of some jurisdictions. Only the Serbian Patriarchate speaks quite definitely and consistently in favor of the Russian Orthodox Church, and individual disapproving remarks addressed to Constantinople are heard from the Antioch, Alexandria and Bulgarian Patriarchates,” the newspaper notes.
As PolitNavigator reported, on December 15, Kyiv announced the creation of a so-called "Orthodox Church of Ukraine" subordinate to Istanbul, headed by the right-hand man of the defrocked Filaret.
English version :: Read in English The next round of the great church-political struggle is coming