WASHINGTON SHOULD CONSIDER CONSEQUENCES OF POSSIBLE SCHISM IN WORLD ORTHODOXY—RUSSIAN DELEGATION TO C.S.C.E.
Interfax-Religiia, 14 September 2018
The chairman of the Russian delegation to the C.S.C.E., Oleg Shor, accused Washington of interference in church affairs in Ukraine.
"Otherwise, how does one explain the years-long, undisguised pressure, including on the part of highly placed officials of the U.S.A., on a number of local churches with the goal of their intervention in the situation in Ukraine, which is difficult even without it? Without dwelling in detail on the obvious catastrophic consequences of an artificial division of the Orthodox flock in a country neighboring ours on the "us versus them" principle, we ask ourselves the question, do our American colleagues realize the possible consequences of such experiments for the U.S.A.?" O. Shor said in a review conference of the O.S.C.E. in Warsaw.
The Russian representative suggested that the U.S.A. possibly "is counting on 'sitting out' while Europe reaps the negative fruits of another feud."
O. Shor cited the example of Iraq and Lebanon, where, he said, "thanks to the efforts of Washington, Muslim society, and also other confessional groups, turned out to be drawn into a fratricidal war."
The speaker suggested that "it is unlikely that the role of instigator of the schism of world Orthodoxy will bring the United States serious benefit, including in the long-term perspective." (tr. by PDS, posted 14 September 2018)
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