Patriarch Kirill: The plan to weaken the UOC failed
The Head of the Russian Orthodox Church believes that the church conflict in Ukraine was created artificially, although it seemed to him a "formidable test".
On December 7, at the Christmas Vespers in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, said that the UOC had successfully withstood the tests associated with the creation of the OCU, Interfax publication reports.
“Today, we can say thanks to the Lord that the plan of many who sought to weaken our Church, to divide it, to place it outside the field of public life, failed. The Church has stood and continues its ministry. First of all, this applies to our fraternal Ukraine,” the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church said.
He also paid tribute to the wisdom of the episcopate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, fidelity of the clergy, piety of the people, which helped to overcome the "difficult circumstances".
“The Lord was with our Church, the Lord was with our faithful people, and where belonging to our Church is accompanied by risks, trials and, one might say, even persecution, our Orthodox people passed this test in those places where this happened,” summed up the Patriarch.
As reported by the UOJ, at the annual Eparchial meeting of the clergy of the city of Moscow, held on December 20, 2019 in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, Patriarch Kirill urged priests to diligent prayer for church unity and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
