MOSCOW, Dec 02, 02 (CWNews.com) - The Russian Orthodox Patriarchate of Moscow has declared its adamant opposition to a proposal that the leader of the Ukrainian Catholic Church should be elevated to the status of a patriarch.
Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk, the chief ecumenical spokesman for the Russian Orthodox Church, told the news service KNA that the creation of a patriarchate for Byzantine-rite Catholics in Ukraine would pose a new obstacle to relations between the Vatican and the world's largest Orthodox body.
The proposal for a Ukrainian Catholic patriarchate, which has been advanced frequently by the faithful of that Eastern Catholic Church, was renewed last week by Cardinal Lubomyr Husar, the Major Archbishop of Lviv and leader of the Ukrainian Catholic community-- the world's largest Byzantine-rite body that is in full communion with the Holy See. Cardinal Husar reportedly raised the question during a meeting of the Vatican's Congregation for Eastern Churches.
Metropolitan Kirill, responding to that proposal, said that the move would constitute an affront to the existing Ukrainian Orthodox Patriarchate of Kiev. «The creation of such a patriarchate-- may God forbid it-- would mean that the Catholic Church was installing a patriarchate where one already exists,» he commented.
[Actually, there are three different Orthodox groups in Ukraine, all claiming to represent the Orthodox faithful of that nation. The Moscow Patriarchate recognizes one Patriarch of Kiev, but another-- who was formally recognized by Moscow, but broke with the Russian Orthodox Church because he insisted on independence-- remains in place, competing for the allegiance of the faithful. A third, smaller group generally sides with the patriarch who rejects Moscow.]
Metropolitan Kirill said that relations between Moscow and Rome could improve-- provided that the Vatican does not set up the Ukrainian patriarchate-- by means of a direct meeting between Pope John Paul II and the Orthodox Patriarch Alexei II. If such a summit could take place, he said, «I think we could untangle that knots that unfortunately have bound us.»
The Orthodox prelate added, however, that such a meeting would not take place «solely to make some nice pictures to be broadcast on TV.» A summit could occur, he said, only if the Vatican meets the familiar conditions set by the Moscow Patriarchate: an end to Catholic «proselytism» in traditionally Orthodox lands, and to Vatican promotion of the Eastern-rite Catholic churches. Under those conditions, he said, a meeting between Pope John Paul and Patriarch Alexei would «put an end to a difficult episode in our relations, and allow us to turn a new page of history.»
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2. desember 2002