The head of the Polish Autocephalous Orthodox Church (PAOC), Metropolitan Savva of Warsaw and All Poland, congratulated the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Kirill (Gundyaev), on the 14th anniversary of his enthronement, noting in the letter that the events in Ukraine indicate that "the enemy is trying to destroy church stability."
Reacting to this, Ukraine's Ambassador to Poland Vasyl Zvarych called this form of greeting "shameful and disgraceful," Ukrinform reports.
The congratulatory letter of the head of the papal church, posted on the official website of the Russian Orthodox Church, in particular, emphasizes that "the enemy of faith does not like church stability. He is trying to destroy it."
"What happened in Ukraine clearly shows this. However, the power of God is great. It is invincible. We believe the evil that destroys the Divine Church organism will be destroyed by Christ, the Victor over Death and Hell," Metropolitan Sava's letter to Gundyaev reads.
For his part, ambassador Zvarych stressed that this letter is "a shame and a disgrace". It was "written by the enemies of Poland. "Incredible! The only thing I agree with is that "God's power is great. It is invincible." And God is on the side of Ukraine, which suffers from Russian barbarism. With Almighty Christ, we will conquer this hell!" said the Ukrainian diplomat.
Many Polish media outlets called the form of greeting Metropolitan Savva to Gundyaev shameful, and he himself – a "friend of Putin", whose actions "fit into the Kremlin's propaganda."
The head of the pope does not recognize the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. In fact, he's taking a pro-Russian position. Since the beginning of the full-scale aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, the Polish Orthodox Church has not strongly condemned Russia's actions, limiting itself in its official statements only to general phrases about the need for peace.