Patriarch Kirill: UOC's an amazing cohesion of episcopate, clergy and laity

Cross procession of the UOC on the Day of the Baptism of Rus. Photo: UOJ

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church has an amazing cohesion of the episcopate, clergy, monastics and laity. The Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus, said this at the opening of the conference "World Orthodoxy: Primacy and Conciliarity in the Light of the Orthodox Doctrine", according to Patriarchia.ru.

The Patriarch stressed that in the face of the schism that has arisen in World Orthodoxy, the Russian Orthodox Church remains united and consolidated, and the developments that have taken place in Ukraine "have helped many in our Church to become even more keenly aware of the gift of unity that we have inherited from our thousand-year history."

“In the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, we observe an amazing solidarity of the episcopate, clergy, monastics and laity,” he added. “Despite the massive aggressive propaganda and political pressure directed against unity with the Russian Orthodox Church, the church-conscious people, who are the true guardians of faith and piety, demonstrate a firm will to preserve this unity. Despite the fact that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is being discriminated and persecuted, it continues to get bigger having new monasteries and parishes."

The number of monasteries and parishes is growing throughout the canonical territory of the Russian Orthodox Church, the Primate stated, and "we can see in this a special sign of God's favor to our Holy Church, which rose from the ashes after seven decades of persecution and has been reviving, strengthening and expanding for more than thirty years now."

On September 16, 2021, a conference on primacy and conciliarity in the Church began its work in Moscow. At the opening, the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church emphasized that the Head of the Church is Christ, not the Patriarch of Constantinople, and called for a theological assessment of the actions of the head of Phanar.

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