MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th October, 2018) The Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church said Monday after a meeting on Ukraine that the Istanbul-based Patriarchate had overstepped its authority by recognizing an independent Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
"In its decision to acquit the leaders of the schism and 'legalize' their place in the hierarchy the Constantinople Synod invoked nonexistent 'canonical privileges ... to rule on appeals of preachers and clerics from all autocephalous churches.' This right, exercised by the Constantinople Patriarch, has never been recognized by all Orthodox Churches," it said in a statement.
The Russian synod, which agreed at a meeting in Minsk on Monday to break ties with the Ecumenical Patriarch, argued that the Patriarchate in Istanbul did not have the authority to annul decisions of the Russian Orthodox Church.
The breakup followed a controversial decision by the Constantinople Synod to grant independence to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and lift anathema from the leaders of two non-canonical churches, excommunicated by the Russian Orthodox Church for their "schism." It also reversed a 1686 decision that transferred the Kiev Metropolis to the Moscow Patriarchate.
The Constantinople Synod's decision was welcomed by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, who looks to establish a single independent church in the country.
The Russian Orthodox Church warned earlier this could affect millions of people in Ukraine and abroad. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate said the synod's decision was a hostile act that interfered with the Ukrainian church's affairs.
