The head of the Russian Orthodox Church is gradually shifting the isolationist ideology, pursued by the ROC, towards dialogue. Recently, Patriarch Kirill (Gundyaev) of Moscow rather unexpectedly stated that the Ukrainian “schism” can be overcome “at some point” because there are no differences in the dogmatic truths for all Orthodox in Ukraine,” reports NG Religii.
The patriarch also hinted that the OCU had allegedly separated from the “mother church,” presumably implying that the “mother church” for Ukraine was the ROC.
“Any schisms are always overcome at some point, of course. That’s if behind these schisms there are no differences in doctrine. God forbid that the dogmatic theological consciousness of the part of the Orthodox of Ukraine that separated from the mother church and got into a schism is overshadowed. From then on, any hope would be lost. But so far this is not the case, so there is hope that, both by God’s grace and the efforts of church ministers, it will be possible to enter into a dialogue at some point and agree on something,” said Patriarch Kirill.
The statement comes as unexpected because, since the fall of 2018, the ROC has been regularly slandering both the Orthodox Church of Ukraine and the head of the true Mother Church, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I.
It remains unclear whether the head of the ROC meant reconciliation with the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew or with the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.
It should be recalled that the ROC had intended to discuss Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew’s actions on granting the tomos of autocephaly to the OCU at the Council of Bishops, which was initially scheduled for November 15-18. However, the event was postponed.
On September 24, the Synod of the Russian Church called Bartholomew’s visit to Kyiv, which took place in late August, a “gross violation of canons.”
Back in October 2018, immediately after the OCU was formed, the ROC bishops decided that “entering into communication with those who shifted into the schism, and even more so with those who were excommunicated from church is tantamount to shifting into the schism and is severely condemned by the canons of the holy church.”
“To maintain an unequivocal position and talk only about the negative role of Patriarch Bartholomew, thus deepening the split, is no longer too effective. If you look at the domestic situation in Ukraine, the OCU survived even after Petro Poroshenko ceased to be head of state,” said Russian political scientist Alexei Makarkin, who is First Vice President of the Center for Political Technology.
He also noted that no other Orthodox church had joined the boycott declared by the Moscow Patriarchate to the Patriarch of Constantinople.
“No one went on to sever Eucharistic and prayerful communication with Patriarch Bartholomew, although they have conflicting views on what Bartholomew did for Ukraine. Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens and All Greece, with whom Patriarch Bartholomew co-served for several days, called the latter the patriarch of the whole Orthodox world. Even those who support Moscow insist that a way out of the deadlock must be sought. That is why Patriarch Kirill said he did not mind looking for this way out,” Makarkin explains.
“However, the talks are unlikely to be productive,” said the Russian political expert. “While earlier the main argument was that the OCU is neither canonical no recognized, it is now impossible to say so, as they are partially recognized by at least four Orthodox churches – Constantinople, Greece, Alexandria, and Cyprus. That is, now the OCU is in about the same position as the Orthodox Church in America, which is recognized by the Russian, Georgian, Bulgarian, and Polish Orthodox Churches, as well as the Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia.
