The Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, which took place today, September 24, in St Daniel Monastery, called the visit of Patriarch Bartholomew to Kyiv uncanonical, because it took place without the invitation of the head of the Russian Orthodox Church.
This is stated in Journal No.60.
The Synod participants also stated that the Ecumenical Patriarch committed a crime because he concelebrated with the bishops of the OCU.
“Preserving the grateful memory of the merits of the Holy Church of Constantinople in illuminating Russia with the light of Christ's faith, to emphasize that the noble exploits of the ever-memorable Holy Patriarchs of Constantinople in the past do not justify the current canonical crimes of Patriarch Bartholomew, who supported the schism and entered into church communion with persons who call themselves Orthodox bishops, but do not have canonical consecration,” the hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church note.
The Russian clergy, therefore, denied Patriarch Bartholomew the right to speak on behalf of the entire universal Orthodoxy.
“It should be noted that by supporting the schism in Ukraine, Patriarch Bartholomew lost the trust of millions of believers. To emphasize that in conditions when the majority of Orthodox believers in the world are not in church communion with him, he no longer has the right to speak on behalf of the entire world Orthodoxy and represent himself as its leader.”
As it was previously reported, the Russian Orthodox Church intended to declare Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew a heretic. The final decision is planned to be made in November this year. Moscow Patriarch Kirill is afraid to make such decisions himself and therefore gathers a Council of Bishops to share responsibility for this with more than four hundred bishops.