UOC hierarch tells about conversation between Pat Irinej and head of Phanar

Serbian Patriarch Irinej and Patriarch Bartholomew. Photo: pravoslavie.fm

Bishop Victor (Kotsaba) of Baryshivka, vicar of the Kyiv Metropolis and head of the Representation of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church to European International Organizations, in an interview with the Journal of the Serbian Patriarchate spoke about the conversation between Patriarch Irinej and the head of Phanar, according to the Information and Education Department of the UOC.

Bishop Victor recalled his meeting with Patriarch Irinej of Serbia, which took place in the Cathedral of the Archangel Michael in Belgrade.

During the meeting with the Ukrainian delegation, Patriarch Irinej, according to Vladyka Victor, “openly declared in front of everyone that he had met with Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople and told him directly in his eyes: ‘Through your non-canonical and harmful actions, you are personally to blame for what is happening today in Ukraine.’"

“These are straightforward words, without any diplomatic language. It was great support for us then, we heard that we are not alone, that other Local Churches support us on the basis of the age-old canonical church system,” said Vladyka.

He also stressed that if we violate the canons, “then we push ourselves beyond the fold of the Church. If we build something bypassing the canons, then such a structure is doomed to temporary existence."

“It's like in the Gospel words of the Savior about a wise builder, who built his house on the rock, and a foolish builder, who built his house on sand (Matt. 7: 24-27). Only the structure that is built on a solid foundation, in our case – on the church canons, will never fall,” Bishop Victor summed up.

Earlier, the UOJ wrote that the bishop of the Serbian Orthodox Church recalled the words of the deceased Primate, which he said to Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople regarding his intervention in Ukraine.

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