The Russian Orthodox Church believes that the Ecumenical Patriarchate has committed a "gross and politically motivated incursion of the competence of the Serbian Orthodox Church" by accepting the clergy of the Ohrid (Macedonian) Church into Eucharistic communion.
This was stated by Archpriest Nikolai Balashov, Deputy Head of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate (DECR MP), Orthodox Life reports citing rg.ru.
Commenting on this decision, the clergyman noted that "the Phanar initiative repeats the model of schism in Ukrainian Orthodoxy."
"Constantinople has once again decided to act as the sole and self-styled horseman of the fate of the entire Orthodox world," Archpriest Nikolai Balashov said.
He drew attention to the fact that the Macedonian Church was not recognized by any of the local Orthodox Churches. As for the newly created Archdiocese of Ohrid, Archpriest Nikolai hopes that the local churches will stand in solidarity with the Russian Orthodox Church, which considers it unacceptable to resolve such issues without the participation of the Serbian Church.
As it was reported, on May 9, 2022, a meeting of the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate was held, during which, after a detailed discussion, they announced Eucharistic communion with the clergy of the Archdiocese of Ohrid. The Synod also decided to rename the Macedonian Orthodox Church to the Archdiocese of Ohrid.