Yevstratiy (Zorya) indicates who "ordered" the scandalous demand of the Serbian Bishop to "withdraw" the autocephaly of the OCU

"The scandalous statement of Bishop Irenaeus (Bulovic) of Backa, hierarch of the Serbian Patriarchate, regarding the proposals of the Ecumenical Patriarch to "withdraw" the autocephaly of the OCU, as a prerequisite for the "powerful growth" of the Patriarch's authority in the world, is not really his personal opinion but originates from Moscow.

Just as the "Amman meeting" was inspired by Moscow and continues to fuel this stillborn initiative, it also directly or indirectly nurtured the statement of the Bishop of Backa in order to demonstrate the direction of its own aspirations.

However, both the face of the hierarch and the content of the statement are chosen such that they can only cause irritation on the Phanar.

It is well known that it was bishop Irenaeus (Bulovic) who actively tried to disrupt the participation of the Serbian Church in the Pan-Orthodox Council of 2016. Perhaps among the various hierarchs of local churches, the attitude towards him in Constantinople in terms of diplomatic rejection can only be compared with the chief of "diplomacy" of the Russian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeyev).

The very content of the statement with the proposal to "withdraw recognition" of the OCU is generally absurd. Equally, he could have immediately called on the Patriarch to transfer the title of "Ecumenical" and the Primacy to the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church. This would be the practical consequence of implementing the extravagant appeal of the Bishop of Backa.

Judging by the "Amman" initiatives and similar statements, Moscow continues to remain disconnected from reality and is trying to drag other churches into its fantasy world. But no matter how nice such worlds may seem, they are not able to substitute reality.

Which is that the OCU is and will be a diptychial autocephalous church. And everyone needs to proceed from this constant, so that because of exorbitant ambitions, in the end, they don't end up at a broken trough, like the haughty old woman from Pushkin's fairy tale," the OCU spokesman responded.