The ROC does not own Church property in Ukraine
MOSCOW, 29 Sep — RIA Novosti. The Russian Orthodox Church wrongly credited with the possession of the Church property and funds in Ukraine but “this does not exist in nature”, said the Chairman of the Synodal Department of the Moscow Patriarchate on relations of the Church with society and mass-media Vladimir Legoyda.
Upstairs
“Unfortunately, there is a persistent stereotype that in Ukraine there is the property not of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and the Russian Orthodox Church or Moscow, what Moscow claims on this property or receives any payments from Kiev. I officially declare: it does not exist in nature,” he said.
The representative of the Russian Orthodox Church said that “there are no secret channels of money transfer of ownership of property in Ukraine”. The canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church “independently makes all decisions, and all of what she owns, belongs only to Ukraine,” — said Legoyda.
“I believe that the problem of the Church in Ukraine should be viewed not in material plane and in the plane of the opportunities for people to exercise their right to religious life”, — said the head of the Synodal Department.
The President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko is trying to achieve recognition of non-canonical religious structures and of establishing a local Autocephalous Church in Ukraine, though, and promised not to interfere in the Affairs of the Church. Earlier, the Patriarchate of Constantinople “in preparation for the granting of autocephaly” was appointed its Exarch in Kyiv.
In addition, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew has stated that it intends to provide Ukraine Autocephalous. In the UOC called such actions by invading the canonical territory of other local churches and called on Patriarch Bartholomew to stop meddling and “exarchs” of the Patriarchate of Constantinople to leave Kiev.
The Russian Orthodox Church, in turn, went to the actual “break diplomatic relations” with the Patriarchate of Constantinople. The Synod of the Russian Church announced a cease commemoration of Patriarch Bartholomew during the Patriarch’s divine services.
In addition, a decision was made to exit from the structures, which is chaired by the representatives of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. Relations of the Russian Orthodox Church with Constantinople was in this crisis only once in all its more than thousand-year history.