“has criticized Russian aggression and specifically condemned Patriarch Kirill’s efforts to give a veneer of religious sanction to the war
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“the Russian government is waging an unjust war against its “Orthodox neighbor,” Ukraine, with the full approval of the Moscow Patriarchate, which has even blessed the conflict as a “holy war.”
“Metropolitan Epifaniy of Kyiv and All Ukraine issued strong criticism of the Patriarchate of Moscow, accusing its supporters of challenging the autocephaly of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, interpreting its calls for dialogue as weakness and promoting the ideology of the “Russian World.”
“instead of assisting Patriarch Theodore and his collaborators in their missionary work among the peoples of Africa, the Russian Orthodox Church has chosen to act in competition with them
“the Vatican’s declared neutrality regarding Russia’s war against Ukraine is actually misleading
“Through these remarks, Metropolitan Epifaniy also aligned his criticism with the position of the Patriarchate of Alexandria regarding the activities of the Russian Church in Africa, describing its representatives there as “Russian ecclesiastical usurpers.”
“the neutrality declared by the Vatican in Russia’s war against Ukraine is in fact deceptive
““The fact that, instead of imposing strict demands upon the followers of Russian Pharisaism in Ukraine, we demonstrate humility and call them to fraternal dialogue, mutual understanding and unity—rather than judging them according to the canons, as the Patriarchate of Alexandria has done with similar Russian ecclesiastical usurpers in Africa—does not mean that we lack the right to act in this way,” he said. “Our conciliatory approach must not be interpreted by anyone as supposed evidence that we do not possess this right or that we ourselves harbour doubts about it.