The Russian Orthodox Church provides financial assistance to the Serbian Church, which, in turn, strongly supports the ideological line of the Russian Orthodox Church, criticizes the Ecumenical Patriarchate and does not recognize the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.
This is reported by Religiyna Pravda citing the press service of the Department of External Relations of the Russian Orthodox Church.
So, Patriarch Porfiry said that the autocephaly of the OCU was granted in "violation of the canons", after which he thanked the Russian Orthodox Church for financial assistance in decorating the Cathedral of St. Sava in Belgrade, as well as the restoration of shrines affected by the earthquake in Croatia in 2020-2021.
"Given the intertwining history of Russia and Serbia, it would be strange if the Russians did not play a significant role in this great Serbian undertaking for the glory of God. We are all very grateful to Patriarch Kirill and the Russian Orthodox Church for their help, thanks to which work was started on creating the interior decoration of the Church of St. Sava," Patriarch Porfiry said.
The patriarch of the Serbian Church recalled that Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2011 when he first visited this church, expressed interest in the Russian people and the Russian state contributing to the fulfillment of the promise of the Serbian people.
Porfiry also said that the Serbian Church "will not change its position" and "provides and continues to provide significant support to Metropolitan Onufriy and his Church."