By Kostas Onisenko
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov chose a new original way to send his wishes to Metropolitan Hilarion on his birthday. He sent his wishes by attacking Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew.
Lavrov’s (another) vicious attack on the Ecumenical Patriarch may be his birthday present to the head of the Moscow Patriarchate Department for External Church Relations.
In particular, the Russian FM gave an interview to the Russia-24 channel on the occasion of the birthday of the Metropolitan of Volokolamsk.
After referring to how “nice,” “smart” and “talented” in his opinion Metropolitan Volokolamsk is, the minister issued a monologue that seems to have been prepared in advance, and the questions were only the reason for attacking the Ecumenical Patriarchate and in the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.
“We all know very well how the Orthodox Church of Ukraine was established. It is not just an initiative of the Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople. It was dictated by the USA. And they do not even hide it,” the Russian minister said.
He then attacked the United States, saying it is the USA that established the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, which he described as schismatic and illegal.
“We clearly understand that the Constantinople’s movements, which are being manipulated directly by Washington, have nothing in common with the ideals of Orthodoxy,” Lavrov said at one point in the interview.
Of course, it is interesting that Lavrov openly admits the involvement of the Russian Foreign Ministry in church affairs by saying he supports the Russian Orthodox Church and collaborates on various projects, such as those concerning the plans of the Kremlin with a purely expansive tone, such as in Syria.
Apart from the fact that the Russian foreign minister admitted that he did what he blamed others for, that is, he is involved in church matters. He also openly admitted that the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine is indeed part of the Moscow Patriarchate and is not an “independent Church” as its priests in Ukraine are trying to persuade the faithful.