RUSSIAN CIVIL AUTHORITIES DO NOT INTEND TO INTERFERE IN INTER-CHURCH DIALOGUE BUT WILL FOLLOW EVENTS IN WORLD OF ORTHODOXY—PESKOV
Interfax-Religiia, 12 October 2018
Russian authorities will not intervene in inter-church dialogue, but this does not deny them the right of carefully observing what is happening in the Orthodox world, the Kremlin declared.
"Civil authority of Russia, of course, cannot interfere in inter-church dialogue. It has never done this and it will not do it in the future," the press secretary of the president of the RF, Dmitry Peskov, declared to journalists, responding to a question of whether Russian authorities intend to react to the decision of the Synod of the patriarchate of Constantinople regarding granting autocephaly to the church in Ukraine.
At the same time, D. Peskov emphasized that "since Orthodoxy is one of the religions that are professed in the RF, then of course everything that happens in the world of Orthodoxy is itself a topic for heightened attention on the part of the government."
"But one cannot talk about intervention on the part of the state in these processes," the president's press secretary concluded. (tr. by PDS, posted 12 October 2018)
KREMLIN SHARES RPTs CONCERN OVER CONSEQUENCES OF DECISION OF CONSTANTINOPLE PATRIARCHATE—PESKOV
Interfax-Religiia, 12 October 2018
The Kremlin expressed extreme concern with the decisions made yesterday by the patriarchate of Constantinople, and it declared that it shares the alarm of the Russian Orthodox Church (RPTs) with regard to possible consequences of these decisions.
"We know about the severe and consistent reaction of the Russian Orthodox Church to those decisions that were announced yesterday from Constantinople (the Synod of the patriarchate of Constantinople—IF). And we have often said previously that we are extremely concerned that it was planned to take steps facilitating the introduction of a schism in the Orthodox world," the Russian president's press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, told journalists on Friday.
In connection with this, the representative of the Kremlin emphasized: "We are extremely concerned that these decisions were made, because really in this case one can fully share the concern that has been expressed on the part of the RPTs."
The Synod of Constantinople, which finished its work on Thursday in Istanbul, removed the anathema from the leader of the self-proclaimed Kiev patriarchate, Filaret Denisenko, and ruled to be canonical his organization and another schismatic structure of Ukraine, the UAPTs. In addition, Constantinople announced the restoration of its rights to the metropolia of Kiev and annulled the more than 300-year-old tomos that transferred this metropolia to Moscow.
In response, the Russian Orthodox Church has already declared that these actions are forcing it to sever eucharistic fellowship with the patriarchate of Constantinople. (tr. by PDS, posted 12 October 2018)
KREMLIN PROMISES TO PROTECT INTERESTS OF ORTHODOX BELIEVERS IN UKRAINE BY POLITICAL AND DIPLOMATIC MEANS
Interfax-Religiia, 12 October 2018
Russia will protect the interests of Orthodox believers, as it protects the interests of Russian speakers, if the situation in Ukraine in connection with decision of the Synod of the patriarchate of Constantinople enters into an illegal channel, the Russian president's press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, declared.
"In the event that developing events enter into a channel of illegal actions, then of course, as Russia protects the interests of Russians and Russian speakers everywhere, Russia will protect the interests of Orthodox believers, as Putin has frequently spoken about this," D. Peskov said in response to a journalist's question about whether Russia will intervene in the situation in Ukraine if radical groupings undertake violent actions with respect to churches of the Moscow patriarchate.
To a question of how Russia will protect the interests of Orthodox, D. Peskov responded: "exclusively politically and diplomatically." He added that "this is an absolutely reasonable and clear position." (tr. by PDS, posted 12 October 2018)
LAVROV CALLS PATRIARCH BARTHOLOMEW'S ACTIONS A PROVOCATION SUPPORTED BY U.S.A.
Interfax-Religiia, 12 October 2018
Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov called the actions of Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew for granting autocephaly to the church of Ukraine a provocation supported by the United States.
"The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate has spoken out against those provocations that are now being plotted by Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew, with direct public support out of Washington," S. Lavrov said, responding to questions of RT France, Paris Match, and Figaro.
The Russian MID posted excerpts from his answers on its website.
S. Lavrov said that "these provocations have been conceived so as to exploit two uncanonical schismatic churches in Ukraine (the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate and the Ukrainian Autocephalous Church), which have never been recognized by a single Orthodox church, but which, in the interests of this provocation, Patriarch Bartholomew, who convoked the other day the Holy Synod in Constantinople, recognized as canonical and removed the anathema from two hierarchs who head these schismatic churches."
"As regards church problems, interference in
the life
of the church is forbidden by law in Ukraine and in Russia, and I
hope also in
any other normal state. But when a special representative of the
U.S.A. on
matters of church relations directly welcomes the decision of
Patriarch
Bartholomew, when Kurt Volker, who is supposed to act in the name
of the U.S.A.
to promote the Ukrainian settlement on the basis of the Minsk
agreements, says
what he said about these processes, then we say in our country
'the cap burns
the thief.' People who cannot present to us a single fact
confirming their
unfounded accusations that we are interfering in somebody's
internal affairs,
behave as if this were the norm," S. Lavrov said. (tr. by PDS,
posted 12
October 2018)
VOLKER: U.S.A. URGES TO PREVENT VIOLENCE IN CHURCH CONFLICT IN UKRAINE
The U.S.A. urges prevention of violence in the religious conflict in Ukraine that has been evoked by the striving of the nonrecognized Ukrainian church for autocephaly. This was stated by the special representative of the State Department for Ukraine, Kurt Volker, on Thursday in a telephone briefing for journalists in Brussels and Washington.
"It is a tragic situation when religious
leaders talk
about violence; this would be horrible and we would not want to
see this,"
he said. This was reported by Rambler. (tr. by PDS, posted 12
October 2018)
KURT VOLKER: PUTIN HAS LOST UKRAINE
UNIAN,
11 October 2018
. . . The looming split of the Ukrainian Orthodox church
from the Russian one
underlined Volker's claim that Putin had lost Ukraine in
political terms.
"I hope there are no protests or violence instigated [in
Ukraine] as a result
of this decision [Ukrainian autocephaly] - that would be
tragic," Volker
said. . . .
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