In an interview with the information Department of the Odessa diocese, representative of the Patriarch of Serbia to the Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia, rector of the representation of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Moscow Bishop Moravicki Anthony shared his vision of the religious situation in Ukraine, according to patriarhiei.
“The Church of God is a divine and human organism, which consists of the local Orthodox Churches. As the human body consists of various members, so the Church consists of local Autocephalous Churches. And if one member suffers, the whole body hurts. And if one Church is suffering, and all the Local Churches can not remain indifferent, ‘ said Bishop Anthony. — Naturally, we all resort to prayer and do our best to heal such problems. Especially now it is important for Ukraine, where unrest, trying to divide the unity of the Orthodox Church.”
Moravicki Bishop Anthony spoke about the position of the Serbian Church: “the Serbian Orthodox Church in the person of its bishops’ Council, which took place on 6-8 November this year, took a very clear decision that it will recognize only the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church under the omophorion of his Beatitude Metropolitan of Kyiv and all Ukraine Onuphrius and will not be recognized and serve with separatist organizations, which is headed by Mikhail Denisenko and so-called Metropolitan Macarius (Maletić)”.
Mention think Local Orthodox Churches of the Ukrainian autocephaly, Bishop Anthony said: “I hope that all Local Orthodox Churches understand this and strongly support true Christianity. A Local Church has decided on this issue — Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, Romanian, Albanian, Polish, Czech lands and Slovakia. Almost all of the Local Church officially declared the support of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church.”
“We do not understand: 300 years there was one Church, and now suddenly everything has changed. This is a canonical violation that destroys the tradition of the Church. And, secondly, to give to Tomos and autocephaly may not one Orthodox Church, and through the consensus of all the local Orthodox Churches. No one on this question is not asked, and most of them do not agree with the decision of the Patriarchate of Constantinople,” — said the representative of the Patriarch of Serbia to the Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia.