Patriarchate of Alexandria comments the information that His Beatitude Patriarch Peter met a Ukrainian schismatic “hierarch”

PATRIARCHATE OF ALEXANDRIA COMMENTS THE INFORMATION THAT HIS BEATITUDE PATRIARCH PETER MET A UKRAINIAN SCHISMATIC “HIERARCH”

Bishop Athanasios of Cyrene, representative of the Patriarchate of Alexandria to Moscow, informed the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate about the true nature of the meeting that took place between His Beatitude Peter, Patriarch and Pope of Alexandria and All Africa and Igor Isichenko, “Archbishop of Kharkov” of the non-canonical Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAOC). The letter of Bishop Athanasios was a reply to some mass media reports on the occasion.

His Beatitude Patriarch Peter received Igor Isichenko on private terms, at the instance of a Coptic priest. It was only during the meeting that the visitor revealed his belonging to UAOC.

The Patriarch stressed that “the Patriarchate of Alexandria did not and does not maintain communication with any non-canonical and schismatic church. It is self-evident that the Patriarchate of Alexandria maintains relations only with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church that is in the canonical and spiritual unity with the Moscow Patriarchate.”

The Primate of the Orthodox Church of Alexandria strongly recommended Igor Isichenko to find a way for returning to the bosom of the canonical Church of the Moscow Patriarchate.

His Beatitude Peter did not permitted the schismatic to conduct a worship service, because “the Patriarchate of Alexandria has no communication with the above-mentioned non-canonical UAOC group,” as the letter says.