Russian Orthodox Church not to involve the Pope in inter-Orthodox problems, the discussion of the Ukrainian issue is still being determined
This was stated by the head of the Department for External Church Relations of the Russian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, in an interview with RIA Novosti. The official ROC website shared this conversation.
The question was the following: "Is Pope Francis expected to make a statement in support of the position of the Russian Church on the problem of schism in Ukraine, as well as the crisis in the Orthodox world as a result of the actions of Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople?"
Metropolitan Hilarion replied: "We should not involve the Roman Pontiff in solving inter-Orthodox problems and we will not do so. The situation in Ukraine cannot but cause our common concern, but whether it will be discussed at the meeting between the Pope and the patriarch remains to be determined."
It is already known for certain that the main issue of discussion will concern how Christians can survive in a world that is becoming increasingly aggressive towards them in a number of regions. Not only in the Middle East, where in recent years there has been a massive displacement of Christians from their places of residence in some countries, and not only in a number of African countries, where Christians are being persecuted and persecuted. But also in Europe, where, according to Metropolitan Hilarion, cases of attacks on churches and desecration of shrines have become more frequent.
The topics of peacemaking, reducing political tension between the West and Russia, defending traditional Christian values in Europe and the world, global trends of moving away from traditional ideas about two sexes and marriage, new biotechnologies, the introduction of artificial intelligence, pandemics, QR codes and fears of establishing total control over citizens, migration flows and crises, environmental problems, the future of Christianity and humanity as a whole will be touched upon.
There are no plans to discuss theological and doctrinal topics.
As reported, a meeting between Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill is scheduled for 2022.
