Photo from UNIAN

A representative of the Kyiv Patriarchate, Yevstratiy Zorya, responded to the decision of the Russian Orthodox Church to sever ties with Constantinople.

In his opinion, the Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church repeats the policy of the Kremlin and follows the path of self-isolation in response to the legitimate decisions of the international community.

"Since 1991, [Russian] Patriarch Kirill has personally been the architect of the division of the Ukrainian Church. Therefore, it is difficult for him to plead guilty of 27 years of false activities, which have dragged the entire Orthodoxy into the conflict," he wrote on Facebook October 15.

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The Kyiv Patriarchate spokesman says the situation “will be fixed sooner or later, and the ROC will return to communication.”

“Now, before everyone worshiping in the Moscow Patriarchate in Ukraine, the question arises: whether they should move toward separation along with the Russian Orthodox Church or remain in unity with the Universal Orthodoxy via the Local Ukrainian Church,” Zorya notes.

As UNIAN reported earlier, on October 15, the Russian Orthodox Church issued a statement announcing a break-up in ties with the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. The move follows the statement by the Ecumenical Patriarchate to proceed to granting autocephaly to the Church of Ukraine, reinstate heads of the UOC-KP and UAOC – Filaret and Makariy – in their canonical status, as well as abolish the legal binding of the Synod's Letter of 1686, thus taking the Kyiv Metropolis from under Moscow's canonical jurisdiction.