The Russian Orthodox Church smashed the thesis “independent state – independent church”
If we follow the logic that guides Ukrainian politicians who demand an independent Ukrainian church, then we will have to divide the Alexandria and Jerusalem Orthodox churches.
This was stated by the Chairman of the Department of External Church Relations of the Russian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, quoted by Kommersant.
He noted that the concept of creating a single local church in Ukraine, separated from the Russian Orthodox Church, is based on the thesis that there should be an independent church in an independent state.
“However, if we act on this principle, then it would be necessary to divide the Alexandrian Church into more than fifty parts, since it embraces the whole of Africa, where there are more than fifty states. In turn, the Church of Antioch and Jerusalem would have to be divided into several parts, and so on,” the Metropolitan noted.
He also noted that the former Metropolitan of Kiev Filaret (Denisenko) decided to solve his personal problem with the help of a church schism.
“This problem was that he was one of the candidates for the Moscow Patriarchal throne, but the local council of the Russian Orthodox Church chose another person for this position - the late Patriarch Alexy II of blessed memory. Filaret harbored a grudge: having returned to Ukraine, he began to work for the creation of an independent church,” recalled the chairman of the Department of External Church Relations of the Russian Orthodox Church.
The Russian Orthodox Church has debunked the idea that "an independent state means an independent church."