The Russian Orthodox Church Communication Service reported on the fourth meeting of the Working Group on Interaction between the ROC and Türkiye’s Office for Religious Affairs, held in Istanbul on July 4. The main topic was the strengthening and protection of a traditional family, as well as the impact of the desecration of religious shrines with public consent. However, behind the facade of “good intentions” hides an elaborate campaign aimed at discrediting Ukraine and the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
The Spiritual Front of Ukraine explains what exactly happened.
The speech of ROC’s Metropolitan Antoniy of Volokolamsk and Archpriest Igor Yakymchuk, who raised the issue of the religious situation pf Ukraine and the “violation of rights” of UOC (MP) believers was an outright manipulation and an attempt to shift responsibility to the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew for the split of Orthodoxy in Ukraine and conflicts on the relevant ground.
Although representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church do not directly mention the patriarch, the “darl PR man” of the UOC (MP), Robert Amsterdam, did this earlier. He even wrote an open letter to the Ecumenical Patriarch, blaming him for the alleged threat of closure of the UOC (MP) as he had granted a Tomos of autocephaly to the OCU, and thereby “paved the way” for the “oppression” of the UOC (MP). However, what they refer to as an “oppression” has nothing to do with the Tomos of autocephaly. The point is that some UOC (MP) clerics aid and abet the enemy in the war while their church is unwilling to break ties with the Kremlin Church, which supports the war and approves the occupation of Ukraine and the killings of its people. This is a healthy reaction on the part of the Ukrainian society to an organization that maintains ties with the Russian Church amid the ongoing act of Russian aggression.
Instead, the Tomos of autocephaly solved the long-standing problem of division in Ukrainian Orthodoxy. Finally, the three branches of the Ukrainian Church merged into one, but the UOC (MP) still does not want to use the fruits of unification and healing of the split and, accordingly, “suffers from oppression”.
It should not be overlooked that the meeting took place against the background of recent events related to the participation of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in the Peace Summit in Switzerland and his signing of the final communique. President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked the Ecumenical Patriarch for the signing. After that, the Turkish side, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, expressed indignation and put pressure on the Ecumenical Patriarchate, which ultimately led to the withdrawal of the signature.
For its part, the ROC, which itself actively supports aggression against Ukraine, divides Ukrainians into canonical believers and “separatists” and promotes the spread of misinformation, trying to divert attention from their own crimes. The use of the topic of protection of traditional values looks like a cover for the realization of the Kremlin’s political, or better said, imperial and invasive goals.
The Russian Orthodox Church continues to seize every opportunity to strengthen Russia’s influence and undermine the authority of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. The cooperation with the Office for Religious Affairs in Türkiye and the meeting in Istanbul are part of the strategy to discredit the Patriarchate of Constantinople and its allies.
Double standards of the Russian Orthodox Church
In their speeches, representatives from the ROC raised the issue of seizure and desecration of churches in Ukraine, as well as persecution of clergy. However, they ignore the fact that it is the Russian Orthodox Church and its units in the occupied territories that are actively contributing to the war against Ukraine, supporting pro-Russian forces and creating artificial conflicts within religious communities and between Orthodox Churches in Ukraine. These accusations from the Russian Orthodox Church look especially cynical against the background of the Russian shelling of the Okhmatdyt children’s hospital and the real persecution of the Ukrainian clergy and believers who are oppressed by Russian invaders in the temporarily occupied territories. It is obvious that Metropolitan Anthoniy of the Russian Orthodox Church never mentioned torture chambers set up in the temples run by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (MP).
The ROC is waging a hybrid war against Ukraine and the Ecumenical Patriarchate, against the Tomos, against the independence of Ukraine and its Church, applying any tools to achieve its political goals. The meeting in Istanbul is another stage of this campaign aimed at undermining trust in the Patriarchate of Constantinople and splitting the Orthodox world.
Ukrainian society and the international community must remain vigilant and not succumb to provocations aimed at dividing the Orthodox world and undermining the unity of the Ukrainian people. The Spiritual Front of Ukraine calls for consolidation of efforts in resisting information attacks and continuing the struggle for truth and just peace.
