UOC hierarch: For the first time, US deputy advocates for Phanar to OSCE

Bishop Victor (Kotsaba) of Baryshevkka. Photo: protiktor.com

In 2019, at the OSCE meeting in Warsaw, for the first time, the US delegate began to actively advocate for the interests of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, noted the UOC Mission to European international organizations Bishop Viktor of Baryshevka (Kotsaba). 
“This year, at the annual meeting in Warsaw, I heard for the first time the US representative advocating for the Patriarchate of Constantinople and raising the question that the Turkish government should allow the opening of a seminary on the Island of Halki,” he said on the air of the "1Kozak" channel.

Vladyka Victor drew the attention of TV viewers that he had been participating in such meetings in Warsaw for several years but had never heard such statements from the delegates of the USA.

“I’ve been participating in this meeting for several years. This has never sounded. Therefore, we can also draw some conclusions from this,” he said.

According to Bishop Victor, it is obvious that there are some geopolitical forces that are interested in weakening world Orthodoxy.

“Our strength is in unity. If we are united around Christ, then no other forces can overcome us. <...> If Christ strengthens us, if we place on Him all our hopes, He will certainly keep us all in unity,” the hierarch of the canonical Church emphasized.

It is simply impossible to maintain unity with your personal manpower, Vladyka Victor believes.

“Probably, those who manage global processes in the world understand this,” he concluded.

Bishop Victor also said that the “Ukrainian question” deeply divided the Church of Greece and it is not known which of the Local Orthodox Churches will be pressed in the future.

We recall that on September 19, 2019, Bishop Victor once again participated in the OSCE meeting in Warsaw, where he reported a violation of the rights of UOC believers.

Read also