The word has been spoken: Patriarch Kirill called Bartholomew a “schismatic”
The Patriarchate of Constantinople fell into schism, lifting the anathemas imposed by the Russian Orthodox Church on two representatives of non-canonical churches, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
According to the website of the Moscow Patriarchate, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' announced this on Friday, speaking at the final plenary session of the VIII All-Church Congress on Social Ministry.
“The Patriarchate of Constantinople has identified itself with the schismatics. Uncanonically, breaking all the rules, he invaded our jurisdiction and forgave the schismatics. This means that by identifying himself with the schismatics, he himself became a schismatic,” he said.
The Patriarch also noted that the majority of believers of the Russian Orthodox Church support the decisions of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church to sever Eucharistic communion with the Patriarchate of Constantinople.
Let us recall that at the meeting of the Synod on October 9-11, the Patriarchate of Constantinople “confirmed the decision that it is proceeding to grant autocephaly to the Church of Ukraine and cancels the decision of 1686 on the transfer of the Kyiv Metropolis to the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate.” It was also decided to lift the anathema from the heads of two non-canonical churches in Ukraine - Filaret from the Kyiv Patriarchate and Macarius from the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church.
The Russian Orthodox Church then called the decisions of the Synod the legalization of the schism of the Orthodox Church in Ukraine.
The word has been spoken : Patriarch Kirill called Bartholomew a "schismatic"