Metropolitan Agafangel of Odessa and Izmail protests against establishment of a bishop see in Odessa

METROPOLITAN AGAFANGEL OF ODESSA AND IZMAIL PROTESTS AGAINST ESTABLISHMENT OF A BISHOP SEE IN ODESSA

The press service of the Diocese of Odessa of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate distributed an address of Metropolitan Agafangel of Odessa and Izmail on the establishment of an Roman Catholic Diocese of Odessa and Izmail. Besides the Odessa region and the Crimea, new diocese also includes the Nikolaevsk and Kherson regions.

Metropolitan Agafangelos stated: ‘The Vatican has always sought to use troubled times in the history of the Russian Orthodox Church to carry out its cherished hope, which is to subordinate the Orthodox West to Rome, to destroy Orthodox statehood and to eradicate the Orthodox faith in people. The same happened under St. Alexander of the Neva and in the Troubled Times in the early 17th century, when our people rose to protect Holy Orthodoxy from the Latins.

We are called to protect the Orthodox Church in the beginning of the 21st century as well. The situation becomes acute. The next step of the Vatican is establishment of dioceses on the territories with traditionally Orthodox population. Thus, a ‘church province’ headed by Metropolitan Taddeusz Kondrusiewicz is organized on the territory of the Russian Federation.

As would be expected, the Catholic and Greek Catholic expansion has become unprecedented after the visit of the head of the Roman Catholic Church to Ukraine. Bishop’s sees are established in the cities, in which the Catholic presence has never been considerable. Kiev is a baptism font of the Russians and now it is a capital of the Greek Catholic Church. First time in history a Catholic bishop is appointed to Odessa, southern capital city of the Orthodox Ukraine. We consider such steps of the Vatican an offensive against Orthodoxy’.

According to the Vatican’s estimations, about 3000 Catholics live on the territory of the newly established diocese, which constitutes 0,04% of the regional population. At the same time about 1400 Orthodox parishes are registered and work in the four dioceses of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate.

It has become known that one more Catholic diocese is to be opened in Ukraine in the nearest future.

Press service of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church
Moscow Patriarchate