Moscow said that Bartholomew is not worthy to be Ecumenical Patriarch
Bartholomew is not worthy to be the Ecumenical Patriarch, since he initiates “illegal” autocephaly for Ukraine.
Political scientist Semyon Bagdasarov stated this on the Vesti FM radio station, commenting on the opening in Istanbul of a three-day meeting of the synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, which can decide the fate of granting a tomos of church autocephaly to Ukraine.
“If the decision on autocephaly is made, it will be illegal. He cannot accept this tomos alone; it must be confirmed by the signatures of representatives of 15 autocephalous churches. As you know, the Russian Orthodox Church, the Jerusalem Orthodox Church, the Serbian Church, and the Antioch Church are against the tomos. And the Patriarch of Alexandria, visiting Odessa, came out categorically against it. After what Bartholomew does, he cannot be taken seriously,” Bagdasarov said.
He believes that the Patriarchate of Constantinople has developed a multi-stage procedure for granting autocephaly to Ukraine.
“At first, this territory may be under the direct subordination of Patriarch Bartholomew. For this purpose, we assume, exarchs were sent to Ukraine - representatives of the Orthodox churches in the USA and Canada, who take anti-Russian positions. They travel around the country and persuade priests to leave the UOC. The main goal is the spiritual separation of believers in Ukraine from Russia,” Bagdasarov said.
Moscow has declared that Bartholomew is unworthy of being the Ecumenical Patriarch.