Oddly enough, the statement of the UOC-MP on independence, which constitutes the majority of parishes of the ROC, did not cause a negative reaction from Kirill.
Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) Kirill said that he “with understanding” refers to the statement of the council of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP) about “independence”.
The head of the ROC said this during a sermon in Moscow Cathedral of Christ the Savior.
“We fully understand how the UOC (MP) suffers. We understand with understanding that His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry and the episcopate should act as wisely as possible today so as not to complicate the lives of their believers. We treat all this with understanding, but we pray that no temporary external obstacles will ever destroy the spiritual unity of our people,” said the Russian patriarch. and the consequences of such a decision “are still being responded to.” Thus, the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church almost verbatim repeated Putin's propaganda, which the Kremlin dictator voiced on the eve of the invasion of Ukraine.
Recall that on May 27, the Council of the UOC-MP declared “independence”, as well as disagreement with the position of Patriarch Kirill regarding wars in Ukraine. At the same time, the UOC-MP clarified that they simply “re-emphasized” the already existing status and did not break off relations with the ROC. The Donetsk and Crimean eparchies of the UOC-MP, located in the occupied territories, stated that they do not accept the decisions of the Council.
In turn, the primate of the OCU, Metropolitan Epifaniy, explained the trick of the UOC-MP regarding “independence” from Moscow's Kirill the “murderer” .
