An interview at Romfea.gr was given by Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, during his stay in Athens as part of his journey to Greece, in areas connected with the life of Apostle Paul.
In the interview the Metropolitan spoke of his meeting with Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens, which took place in a sincere and warm climate, he said, adding that “Archbishop Ieronymos enjoys high status not only within the Church of Greece but also in all the Orthodox Churches. His voice is very important for Orthodoxy worldwide.”
When asked whether a future meeting between the Ecumenical Patriarch and the Patriarch of Moscow would have made sense, Metropolitan Hilarion said that “for the time being, I do not see any preconditions for such a meeting.”
Regarding the possibility of other Churches recognizing the autocephalous Church of Ukraine, he said that it would be proper not to take unilateral decisions. He estimates that if one or two Churches recognize the Church of Ukraine, this will aggravate the division.
“We must wait, pray and hope for the mercy of God and the illumination of the Holy Spirit for all of us, for the Holy Spirit will help us in the future to make a right decision in a Pan-Orthodox way.
I am deeply convinced that the problem of the Ukrainian schism has to be dealt in that exact way, with the participation of all the members of the Orthodox Church,” he said.
“We pray for the Lord to help us co-heal both the old and the new blows that the Church receives, so that, according to Apostle Paul, ‘Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body… makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.’ (Eph. 4:15-16).”
