The Rivne Metropolitan of the UOC MP withdrew his signature from the statement condemning Russia
Rivne, November 19 (PolitNavigator, Victoria Litovchenko) – Metropolitan Bartholomew of Rivne and Ostrog (UOC-MP) withdrew his signature from the Memorandum, which spoke of the need to create a Church independent of Moscow, and condemned the actions of Russia, which is called an aggressor for the events in Donbass and in Crimea.
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"Sincerely hoping that there will be no more seizures of Orthodox churches, and that all religious conflicts in the future will be resolved peacefully and fairly, I, as Administrator of the Rivne Diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, signed the Memorandum. After reading it, many clergy and ordinary believers of the diocese perceived the signed Memorandum as a betrayal of the Orthodox faith. Various rumors have begun, leading to ecclesiastical instability in the diocese," the Metropolitan explained in his appeal on the diocese's website.
According to him, supporters of the UOC-KP are grossly violating one of the document's provisions, which stipulates an end to the seizure of Orthodox churches. Specifically, such attempts were made in the Ostrozhsky and Dubensky districts.
As PolitNavigator reported, the memorandum also bears the signatures of schismatics from the UOC-KP, the UAPC, Greek Catholics, and others. "During the signing, it was clear that Bartholomew was nervous," local journalists noted during the signing.