Bishop Paisii, head of the Odesa and Baltiya eparchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kyivan Patriarchate, believes a possible visit of Russian Orthodox Patriarch Alexis II to Ukraine “will aggravate” problems in Orthodoxy. This news was reported on 6 December 2002.
According to Bishop Paisii, every hierarch has the right to visit his believers no matter where they reside. However, “the problem is that this visit is publicized as a state visit. Something like the visit of the Pope of Rome. But the Pope is the head of the Vatican state and was invited to Ukraine in this capacity, whereas Patriarch Alexis II is pursuing different purposes. There’s continuous disinformation on the problems of Ukrainian Orthodoxy,” said Bishop Paisii. “If [Patriarch Alexis II’s] visit takes place, it will only aggravate this situation,” asserted the bishop. In addition, Bishop Paisii emphasized that the UOC-KP will not oppose the visit or conduct any actions of protest.