Why the spokesman for the Kyiv Patriarchate insults Orthodox hierarchs

The spokesman for the Kyiv Patriarchate, "Archbishop" Yevstratiy Zoria, in response to the criticism of Archbishop George of Wroclaw and Szczecin, said that the Orthodox hierarchs opposing the schism do so for money. What caused such a sharp and inadequate reaction of the spokesperson for the Kyiv Patriarchate to the words of the Polish bishop?

First of all, the need to somehow reassure your flock and keep it in the "canned" ideological space, where there is no room for self-criticism and doubt in the coming "recognition". Such seclusion and insulation from the real world is usually characteristic of totalitarian sects. Similarly, the top of the UOC-KP makes every effort to drown out the voice of world Orthodoxy or discredit it. As in totalitarian sects, any criticism or doubt in their leaders is declared the machinations of the devil, in the Kyiv Patriarchate everything is reduced to the "hand of Moscow".

One thing is when on the path of "recognition" of the Kyiv Patriarchate there is the only Moscow Patriarchate, and the other thing – when the fullness of the Orthodox Church condemns the actions of the schismatics. And the more such statements from the Local Churches, the more difficult it is for the leadership of the UOC-KP to maintain the old ideological scheme: the victim (the schismatics) is the aggressor (the Moscow Patriarchate). If the supporters of Filaret begin to realize that the main issue is not in the "imperial ambitions" of the ROC, but in the position of the entire Orthodoxy, the very existence of the schism will be threatened. After all, in fact, the only unifying force of the UOC-KP is Russophobia and constant promises of "soon recognition".

All this forces Yevstratiy Zoria to step on slippery ground, resorting to openly boorish rhetoric. He simply has no choice. Over the past two years, the ideological scheme of the UOC-KP has received many "holes" in the form of dozens of critical statements by authoritative Orthodox hierarchs. To somehow mitigate the blow to the ambitions of his organization, Zoria came up with an "explanation": all the bishops who spoke in support of the UOC and denied the possibility of recognizing the Kyiv Patriarchate, are "corrupted". That is, "they promote the interests of the Russian Orthodox Church for money". This explanation will be easily swallowed by parishioners of the UOC-KP, who accept at face value everything connected with accusations against the Russian Church.

Naturally, Filaret’s spokesman did not provide any evidence and could not do this in principle. Moreover, such accusations against the leaders of the Local Churches seem absolutely inadequate. To believe that the heads of the Alexandrian, Jerusalem, Bulgarian, Serbian, Albanian and other Orthodox Churches received money for criticism of the schism, natural for the Church, means breaking all norms of decency and common sense. However, Yevstratiy Zoria resorted to direct insults of the Alexandrian Patriarch, scornfully calling his words in support of the UOC "Alexandrian jeans". Just think, the spokesperson for the religious organization that claims the canonical status of an Orthodox patriarchate openly spits in the face of those who it is seeking this status from! According to all diplomatic canons, this is an open act of aggression against the Orthodox Church.

Zoria’s insinuations against Archbishop George of Wroclaw and Szczecin deserve comment. Whether deliberately or ignorantly, Yevstratiy Zoria declared that Vladyka George "does not belong to the number of those" who the question of the recognition of the Kyiv Patriarchate depends on and "who the Ecumenical Patriarch or the Primates of Churches would consult with." Probably, the UOC-KP spokesman does not know that Archbishop George is one of the most authoritative hierarchs of the Polish Church, who has repeatedly been a member of official delegations of the Polish Orthodox Church to other Local Churches – Constantinople, Jerusalem, Greece and Cyprus. In October 2015, he represented the Polish Church at the Fifth Pan-Orthodox Pre-Council Meeting. Therefore, yes, he is one of those people who influence the decisions made in the Orthodox Church.

What does Zoria’s aggressive rhetoric mean then? Why spit in the well, from which you are going to drink? After all, as is known, recognition of autocephaly cannot take place without the consent of all 14 Local Orthodox Churches. This can only mean one thing: the Kyiv Patriarchate does not really expect any recognition and knows that it will not receive it. All these scandalous information throws are designed exclusively for the internal audience, which must be motivated and "pumped" in order to keep in the orbit of the schism. Thus, both Filaret and his associates have long buried the hope for loyalty on the part of the Orthodox Churches, and therefore allow themselves aggressive and ultimate rhetoric towards them.

It is known that the Orthodox Church consists of 14 Local Churches. Besides the ROC, the Primate of the Patriarchate of Alexandria, the entire Polish Church, the Bulgarian Church (which Zoria accused of depending on the ROC for not participating in the Crete Council), the Antiochian and the Georgian Churches (for the same reason) find themselves in the heat of the moment and on Zoria’s sharp tongue. These are already six Local Churches, from which Filaret should not expect gratitude for groundless attacks from his spokesperson. In turn, the priests of the Serbian, Albanian, Bulgarian, Polish, Alexandrian, Jerusalem and other Churches subjected the Kyiv Patriarchate to harsh criticism. That is, at least 9 out of the 14 Churches will not agree to support the recognition of the schismatics. And if we take into account that the criticism of the UOC-KP also sounded from the lips of authoritative representatives of the Romanian, Cypriot and Greek Churches, we can safely say: the dissenters have no chance of recognition.

According to Yevstratiy Zoria’s logic, it turns out that practically the entire world Orthodoxy is "bribed" by the Moscow Patriarchate. But in fact everything is much simpler – schism cannot be recognized, because it is against the Church canons. Therefore, not only the ROC does not accept the schism, but the WHOLE Orthodox Church! And the earlier ordinary parishioners of the UOC-KP understand this, the sooner they will be able to return to the Church after repentance.