Spokesman of the OCU Synod makes a prognosis when the OCU gets recognized by the Moscow Patriarchate

The Archbishop called today's recognition of the OCU by the head of the Orthodox Church of Cyprus a landmark event since the Church of Cyprus has a special position, is perceived as belonging to "ancient" rather than "new" autocephaly, and enjoys high authority both among the Greek churches and in the Orthodox world as a whole.

He wrote about this on Facebook.

Archbishop Yevstratiy has noted that Archbishop Chrysostomos II is a well-known and reputed hierarch, theologian and church scholar. His authority is based not only on the fact that he is a Primate. His position is always well-grounded, consistent and well-judged.

"Therefore, today's event is not something spontaneous or induced by emotions, circumstances or individuals. This is the fruit of a long process, reflection, consultations," said Yevstratiy (Zorya).

Prior to this recognition, Archbishop Chrysostomos II held several consultative meetings with the Primates of local Churches.

According to the spokesman of the Synod of the OCU, Moscow did itself a disservice by "intensively creating problems among local churches, influencing the position of some hierarchs including through "generous donations" Both in the Church of Greece and in the Patriarchate of Alexandria, many bishops openly complained of the frantic pressure on the part of the Russian Orthodox Church... As a responsible archpastor, the Archbishop of Cyprus was actually confronted by the actions of the Russian Orthodox Church urging him to make a choice - to act for the benefit and unity of Orthodoxy, or to unwittingly assist Moscow in its destructive cause. The hierarch made a choice: "I act for the benefit of the entire Church, not to satisfy some individuals."

Archbishop Chrysostomos "decided to act in favor of preserving Orthodox unity, which should be protected from the hegemonic encroachments of Moscow," Archbishop Yevstratiy explained and added:

"If in January 2019 the future of the OCU seemed vague and uncertain to many external observers, and the statements of Moscow propaganda about the imminent "collapse of the new autocephaly" sounded quite verisimilar, now the Orthodox world is increasingly getting convinced that this is not the case. The OCU has established itself and took a hold showing that it is not a "project" tied to politicians or personalities, but a truly local church that exists and will continue to exist."

According to the Archbishop of the OCU, the struggle, including media, will continue, but it should be stated that officially 5 out of 15 Diptychial local Churches, that is, 1/3 of their number, maintain a consolidated positive stance on the Tomos. And everything indicates that this number will grow.

"This will continue until the Moscow Patriarchate remains alone in its denial of the reality of the OCU's existence as a local Church. Then, sooner or later, the Moscow Patriarch will also remember the name of the Primate of the OCU in the Diptych," Yevstratiy (Zorya) summed up.