Bartholomew against 'fake news' on the Ukrainian question

Pro-Moscow Orthodox accuse the Ecumenical Patriarchate of seeking personal or economic favours in connection with the granting of autocephaly to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The latter is bound to Constantinople by strong and deep roots, which no one can break, according to Bartholomew.

Istanbul (AsiaNews) – Six months after the Orthodox Church of Ukraine was granted autocephaly, Moscow Patriarchate's cold war against the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Constantinople continues.

In a statement, an official with pro-Moscow Ukrainian Orthodox Church states that the Fanar (Ecumenical Patriarchate) "has requested or demanded all sorts of favours, economic or political, from political and Church leaders".

In a press release, the Ecumenical Patriarchate responded stressing this "is not true but rather defamatory and offensive to the mother Church in Constantinople". Highlighting something everyone knows, he notes that nine of the 14 Orthodox Churches in the world obtained their autocephaly from Constantinople, Moscow included.

In a recent homily, Bartholomew spoke about granting autocephaly to the Ukrainian Church, saying that "The right answer that the Ecumenical Patriarchate gave to the Ukrainian question finds its foundation in the secular tradition of the Orthodox Church, which is inspired by the Gospel and by respect for the sacred canons, stripped of any political consideration or diplomatic pressure."

It must therefore be very clear, Bartholomew goes on to say, "that the continuous use of disinformation through the Internet, the so-called 'fake news', are aimed at damaging the rights of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, as sanctioned by the sacred canons."

Finally, the statement adds that “on January 6, 2019, the Ukrainian Church obtained its own autocephaly, that is the possibility of self-administration, a right, as per Orthodox tradition, that is based on the synodal exercise."

The relationship between the mother Church in Constantinople and that in Kyiv is akin to the relationship that exists between mother and daughter: a secular bond that finds its origin in the baptism of Saint Vladimir.

None of the various insinuations (and the Fanar is convinced of this) will be able to break this relationship, this bond, because the Ecumenical Patriarchate has always acted in a spirit of sacrifice and self-denial for all its children.

• turkey
• ukraine
• russia
• orthodox
• ecumenical patriarchate
• bartholomew
• fake news
• autocephaly
• moscow