MOSCOW, September 10. /TASS/. The Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church has expressed strong protest and deep indignation in connection with the communique by the General Secretariat of the Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople made public on September 7, 2018, which said that two bishops of that Church, Archbishop Daniel of Pamphilon (USA) and Bishop Hilarion of Edmonton (Canada), had been appointed the Constantinople Patriarchate’s “Exarchs” in Kiev.

“The decision [by the Constantinople Patriarchate] leads to a stalemate in relations between the Russian and Constantinople Churches, posing a real threat to the unity of the Orthodox Christianity. The Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church states that full responsibility for these anti-canonical actions will be shouldered by Patriarch Bartholomew personally and those officials in the Church of Constantinople who support them,” the statement runs.

The Holy Synod stressed that “this decision was made without the approval of Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia and Metropolitan Onuphrius of Kiev and All Ukraine and is a gross violation of Church canons prohibiting bishops from one Local Church to interfere in the internal life and affairs of another (Local Church).”

“To justify their interference in the affairs of another Local Church, the Patriarch of Constantinople provides false interpretations of historical facts referring to his allegedly exclusive powers, which, in actual fact, he does not have and has never had,” the Holy Synod stressed.

“The Moscow Patriarchate’s counter-moves will follow soon,” it added.