Yelensky accuses Jerusalem and Antioch Churches of bribery
The GESS head believes that Moscow bribed the Local Churches so that they would not recognize the OCU.
Viktor Yelensky, head of the State Service for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience, said in an interview with ukrinform.ua that the struggle around the Tomos for the OCU is a big geopolitical story. At the same time, he noted the role of the ROC in this story: Moscow allegedly bribed the Local Churches so that they would not recognize the structure of the OCU. In particular, Yelensky accused the Jerusalem and Antioch Churches of taking bribes.
“Let's take the Church of Jerusalem or Antioch? Does anyone doubt that their non-recognition of the OCU was paid for by Moscow? If you remember how fierce the struggle around the Tomos was, then it is clear that this is a great geopolitical story,” Yelensky said.
When asked why the process of recognizing the structure of Dumenko among other Local Churches, which was announced by the leadership of the OCU, slowed down, Yelensky predicted that there would be a new wave of recognition, since this issue does not lie in the theological plane.
As the UOJ reported, in 2019 the Ukrainian media published a fake about the recognition of the OCU by the Bulgarian Church.