The reaction of the Russian Orthodox Church to the tomos provided to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine cannot be referred to as a schism in world Orthodoxy.
This was stated by OCU Primate Metropolitan Epifaniy of Kyiv and All Ukraine, who spoke in an interview with RBC-Ukraine.
“There is no schism in the Orthodox world as such. There is the ROC, which severed ties with the Ecumenical Patriarchate. Other Churches supporting the ROC to some extent didn’t do so, including the Serbian Orthodox Church,” His Beatitude remarked.
“There are several Churches that to some extent gravitate toward the ROC, which has happened historically. In part, the Georgian Church, the Polish Church, the Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia, and the Serbian Orthodox Church have historically good relations with the ROC. But if the Ukrainian church stands strong and united, peace will reign in the Orthodox world,” Metropolitan Epifaniy said, adding that the diptych of the Orthodox Churches has developed historically, with the Ecumenical Patriarchate topping it, as determined at the Fourth Ecumenical Council in 451.
The head of the OCU recalled that Moscow had been trying to change this solely on the grounds that they consider themselves the largest Church in the Orthodox world. But this does not mean that they will gain primacy. They will never achieve this.
“Indeed, they do not abandon this idea. And now, if they completely lose the Ukrainian Church, they will never be able to claim such supremacy. They are so large precisely thanks to the Ukrainian Church so without the latter they lose almost half of their size,” said Metropolitan Epifaniy.
