Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Russian theologian considers Yuschenko's desire to subordinate the Ukrainian Church to Constantinople strange

27 May 2008, 14:17

Moscow, May 27, Interfax - Professor of the Moscow Theological Academy Deacon Andrey Kurayev is perplexed with recent words of Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko that Ukraine approached "Mother Church of the Constantinople Patriarchate."

"In those times when Kiev metropolitans were appointed in Constantinople, Constantinople was an Orthodox center of Orthodox Empire and it was natural to depend on Constantinople patriarchs, but today it is a bit strange, to put it mildly," he stated in his interview to Interfax-Religion.

Fr. Andrey confessed that he can only shrug his shoulders bitterly and say: "how strange Ukraine's fate is as it faces the same choice in various centuries: to be under Russia or under Poland and Turkey."

"Nowadays Ukraine becomes Poland's outskirts in political and economical sense and in church sense evident is this strange dream to be subordinated to the Turkish Patriarch," Deacon Kurayev said.

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