His Holiness Patriarch Kirill: We pray and work to the end that the forces of evil may not shatter the unity of Orthodox Churches
On 2nd December 2019, during a brotherly repast following the Divine Liturgy celebrated at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia commented on the situation that had arisen in the world Orthodoxy after the recognition of the OCU non-canonical group by several Local Churches.
“Certainly, in every epoch the Church endures sufferings and afflictions. And us, as well, the Lord did not keep out of afflictions which pertain, first and foremost, to what is going on in the world Orthodoxy. It is amazing how under the influence of external political factors our Orthodox brothers are embarking on a path of recognition of the schismatics – people who have no lawful ordination, who, in fact, are laymen calling themselves clergymen! It is especially dangerous and sad that the schismatics receive support not from some marginal groups, as was formerly the case, but from among the canonical Local Churches,” His Holiness Patriarch Kirill said
“Nobody yet knows the aftermath of this situation,” His Holiness continued, “Of course, we pray and work in order that the forces of evil may not shatter the unity of Orthodox Churches, that the good and evil forces may not mix and turn into some amorphous mass, wherein it is already impossible to distinguish the good from the evil, the verity from a falsity, the canonical order from trampling on the canons. In other words, we have entered a very difficult period, and our success in going through these ordeals depends to a large extent on the inner state of our Church. The stronger our unity is – both in tackling the tasks of internal development and in conducting the dialogue with the world Orthodoxy – the more successful our actions will be. We will have to look into and make sense of the processes going on in the world Orthodoxy today, and I hope that in the nearest future the Bishops’ Council will clearly define our position in relation to the schisms and to those of our brothers who, regrettably, support these schisms.”
“God help us, so that the ordeals which have befallen us, the current generation of the episcopate, clergy and faithful people, may not shatter our unity and weaken our strength, so that we could continue our steadfast journey on the path shown to us by our righteous ancestors, preserving the purity of Orthodoxy and of the canonical order while not yielding to any contrivances coming both from without and sometimes from within the Church,” His Holiness Patriarch Kirill said in conclusion.
Patriarchal Press Service/
DECR Communication Service