LAVROV
ACCUSES U.S.A.
OF PROMOTING SCHISM IN ORTHODOX WORLD
Interfax-Religiia,
6
November 2019
The
U.S.A. stands
behind the granting of autocephaly to the new church of Ukraine
(PTsU) and it
is trying to split the Orthodox world yet further, the head of
the Russian
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sergei Lavrov, declared.
"I have
not
heard that the Greek Orthodox Church has officially recognized
the schismatic
Orthodox Church of Ukraine. I have heard that there is a letter
from Archbishop
(of Athens and all-Greece) Ieronymos, addressed to the leader of
the
schismatics, but I have not seen an official statement of the
Greek Orthodox
Church," Lavrov said on Wednesday at a press conference on the
results of
conversations with the head of the Greek foreign ministry in
Moscow.
"As
regards the
conditions under whose influence this letter was sent and
discussion was begun
within the bounds of the Greek Orthodox Church on this topic,
then sure there
exists outside influence here," the Russian minister noted.
"Said
letter by
Ieronymos preceded the visit by Mr. Pompeo to Athens, who did
not particularly
conceal the fact that among issues that he resolved there was
this
question," Lavrov said.
"As I
understand
it, American diplomats traveled for this purpose to the Holy
Mount Athos also.
And the head of the schismatic so-called Orthodox Church of
Ukraine, Epifany,
publicly declared that the creation of this structure would have
been
impossible without the direct support of the U.S.A.," the head
of M.I.D.
added.
"It is
becoming
obvious that the U.S.A. does not want to restrict itself to what
has already
been done, and it is trying to promote schism within the
Orthodox world as a
whole," Lavrov declared, noting that "work is being conducted in
practically all Orthodox churches, and this is regrettable."
"And the
special
ambassador of the U.S.A. for religious liberty, despite his
title, which
generally explains what he is supposed to be engaged in, has
called publicly
for everybody to recognize the schismatics," Lavrov declared.
He
reported that he
raised this topic in conversations with his Greek colleague. "We
confirmed
that Greece and Russia maintain a position of noninterference of
states and the
government in church affairs. As regards the impact of this
situation in the
ecclesiastical world upon inter-state relations between Moscow
and Athens, then
we have no desire to create artificially problems and hindrances
for the
development of our cooperation in all areas on a mutually
beneficial
basis," Lavrov said.
The
Bishops' Council
of the Greek church recognized the right of the patriarch of
Constantinople to
grant autocephaly, and specifically to the PTsU, which was
created in December
of last year with the support of Constantinople and the then
ruling authorities
of Ukraine on the base of two uncanonical religious
organizations of the
country.
On 29
October, Archbishop
of Athens and all-Greece Ieronymos II sent a letter to the head
of the PTsU in
which he declared the actual recognition of that structure. (tr.
by PDS, posted
7 November 2019)
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