Abp. Elpidophoros: Russian Orthodox Church Reduced to an Instrument of the Kremlin

Abp. Elpidophoros. Photo: YouTube screenshot from Viche interview

NEW YORK — Abp. Elpidophoros of America warned that the war launched by Russia against Ukraine has gravely damaged Orthodox unity, as casualties, missing, and wounded now approach two million, according to recent estimates.

In an interview with the Ukraine-based outlet Viche, the Archbishop echoed Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew’s assessment that the leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church has become an instrument of the Russian state. Calling this “a very dangerous path,” he said the Russian faithful deserve a Church guided by the Gospel rather than political interests.

Abp. Elpidophoros also addressed recent statements by Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service, arguing they confirm a long pattern of state interference in Church life. He stressed that intelligence agencies have no authority in ecclesiastical matters and warned that political pressure has fueled divisions within Ukrainian Orthodoxy.

Referring to the 2019 grant of autocephaly to the state-backed Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), the Archbishop said that Russia obstructed the OCU's independence for political, not ecclesiastical, reasons, adding that many clergy faced intimidation for refusing to comply. However, multiple hierarchs of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), including Metr. Theodosiy of Cherkasy, have asked Patr. Bartholomew to give attention to the ongoing persecution and immense suffering of the UOC's clergy and faithful who have endured physical violence, church seizures, clergy abductions, intimidation, and state pressure. 

Previously, the UOJ reported that Metr. Apostolos defended the Ecumenical Patriarch's mission in Ukraine.

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