Legoyda: Russian Church is not the Church of Russian Federation
Vladimir Legoyda recalled that an area of pastoral responsibility of the Russian Orthodox Church includes 16 independent states.
The Chairman of the Synodal Department for the Relations of the Church with Society and Media of the Moscow Patriarchate, Vladimir Legoyda, said that the Russian Orthodox Church is not the Church of the Russian Federation only. He said this on October 2, 2019, at the 16th annual meeting of the Valdai International Discussion Club.
In particular, discussing the topic of persecution of Christians in the Middle East, Vladimir Legoyda said that "the Russian Orthodox Church is not the Church of the Russian Federation."
He emphasized the fact that "the modern Russian Orthodox Church, its canonical territory, its area of pastoral responsibility, includes 16 independent states."
According to Vladimir Legoyda, such a supranational nature "certainly lays a special pastoral responsibility on the Russian Orthodox Church in its relations with the states as well as international organizations."
Recall that earlier the UOJ wrote that, according to Metropolitan Anthony (Pakanich), a spiritual relation with the Russian Orthodox Church does not negate the independence of the UOC.
