RPTsMP SYNOD COMPLETELY SEVERS FELLOWSHIP WITH CONSTANTINOPLE PATRIARCHATE
The Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate on 15 October acknowledged that further eucharistic fellowship with the Constantinople Orthodox Church is impossible, TASS reports from Minsk, where the full membership of the Holy Synod of the Moscow patriarchate gathered, including Metropolitan of Kiev and all-Ukraine Onufrey.
"At today's session of the Holy Synod, a decision was made regarding a complete break of eucharistic fellowship with the patriarchate of Constantinople. This was a compulsory decision, but our Holy Synod was not able to make a different decision, inasmuch as all the logic of recent actions of the Constantinople patriarchate led to this," Metropolitan of Volokolamsk Ilarion said of the results of the session.
This decision signifies that a priest of the RPTsMP cannot celebrate joint liturgies with representatives of the ecumenical patriarchate and laity will not be able to receive communion within churches of the ecumenical patriarchate, including in monasteries on the Holy Mount Athos.
"That church that recognized schismatics and entered into fellowship with them has thereby excluded itself from the canonical field of the Orthodox church," he added.
The session of the RPTsMP Holy Synod was held in the building of the Minsk diocesan administration. (tr. by PDS, posted 15 October 2018)
RPTs HOPES THAT CONSTANTINOPLE PATRIARCH WILL ABANDON HIS DECISIONS ON UKRAINE
Interfax-Religiia, 15 October 2018
The patriarchate of Moscow is counting on Constantinople changing its decision on Ukraine.
"We are hoping that common sense will prevail and that the patriarch of Constantinople will change his attitude toward existing church reality," the chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow patriarchate, Metropolitan of Volokolamsk Ilarion, declared.
At the same time he emphasized that "up until now, until this happened, up until now so far these illegal decisions of Constantinople remain in force and we cannot be in fellowship with this church that today is in schism."
On 11 October, the Synod in Istanbul made a number of decisions that in the RPTs have already been called "predatory," specifically it rehabilitated leaders of the Ukrainian schism, announced the opening of its own annex in Kiev, and cancelled the 300-year-old order that transferred the Kiev metropolia to Moscow. (tr. by PDS, posted 15 October 2018)
RPTs URGES LOCAL CHURCHES TO ASSESS CONSTANTINOPLE'S ENCROACHMENT ON UKRAINIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH
The Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church [RPTs] urged local Orthodox churches to assess the encroachment of the patriarchate of Constantinople on the canonical territory of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and search for a way out of the crisis, the Synod's statement says.
"We call primates and holy synods of local Orthodox churches to a proper assessment of the aforementioned anti-canonical actions of the Constantinople patriarchate and to a joint search for ways out of the very difficult crisis that is tearing the body of the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church," the document says.
The synod also expressed comprehensive support for Metropolitan of Kiev and all-Ukraine Onufrey and the whole Ukrainian Orthodox Church in this time that is especially difficult for it.
On Monday the Holy Synod of the RPTs made a decision about a full break of eucharistic fellowship with the patriarchate of Constantinople. The session of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church on Monday was held for the first time in Minsk under the chairmanship of Patriarch of Moscow and all-Rus Kirill; its main topic was an assessment of the actions of the patriarchate of Constantinople in Ukraine and development of measures of response by the RPTs.
Earlier the Constantinople patriarchate made a decision to proceed to granting autocephaly to the church in Ukraine and also to restore immediately the Stavropegion (representation immediately subordinate to the patriarch of Constantinople) in Kiev. Constantinople also decided to annul the anathema and all prohibitions laid by the RPTs on the head of the self-proclaimed Kiev patriarchate, Filaret, and to restore him and also the leader of yet another uncanonical structure—the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church—Makary and their adherents to church rights and rank. And "to restore to fellowship with the church" their flock. In this way, for the first time Constantinople recognized the schismatic ecclesiastical structures in Ukraine to be legitimate. In addition, the Constantinople patriarchate in effect declared its rights to Ukraine, revoking the legal effect of the historic letter of 1686 transferring to the Moscow patriarch the right to appoint the metropolitan of Kiev who was elected by a council of his diocese.
The RPTs called the Synod's decisions the legalization of schism and declared that they will cause catastrophic harm, affecting the fate of millions of people not only in Ukraine but also in the whole Orthodox world. Fellowship of Constantinople with schismatics destroys canonical orthodoxy and the absurdity of removing the anathema from Filaret is completely evident, the press secretary of Patriarch of Moscow and all-Rus Kirill declared.
The Ukrainian Orthodox Church, in its turn, did not rule out a severance of fellowship with Constantinople and the imposition of an anathema on Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew, noting that it considers the decision of Constantinople regarding the Ukrainian church to be an uncanonical, profoundly hostile act and interference in the affairs of a local church. (tr. by PDS, posted 15 October 2018)
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