Epiphanius replied that this is what he would say to Patriarch Kirill during a face-to-face meeting

Metropolitan Epiphanius, Primate of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, called the “Russian World” ideology murderous. He also stated that the Russian Orthodox Church has become part of the Russian Federation’s state apparatus and openly supports the war against Ukraine.

 

Metropolitan Epiphanius gave this response when asked what he would say to Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, who supports the invasion and promises Russian soldiers forgiveness of their sins if they die in the war.

“It is unlikely that we will meet in the near future. But we are called to bear witness to the truth. And as the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, we bear witness to the truth—that this ideology, co-created by the bloodthirsty Patriarch Gundyaev, is a murderous ideology. And we see that the propagation of this ideology over several decades has, in practice, led to such negative consequences,” said Metropolitan Epiphanius.

According to Epiphanius, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine has condemned the ideology of the “Russian World” as heresy. He noted that its destructive nature is also recognized by Orthodox theologians in various countries, and this condemnation has been confirmed at the level of the Conference of European Churches.

He also accused the head of the Russian Orthodox Church of openly supporting the aggression. According to the Primate of the OCU, the church in Russia has effectively become part of the state apparatus and supports Vladimir Putin’s policies.

Epiphanius noted that initially, the Russian Orthodox Church’s support for the war was largely tacit, but in recent years it has become overt. Specifically, this refers to the church leadership’s participation in events, the blessing of soldiers and weapons, and the portrayal of the war as a struggle for the sacred.

“We know that this war is not a holy war, but a diabolical one,” the metropolitan emphasized.

He recalled that Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew had also called Russia’s war against Ukraine diabolical. Epiphanius stressed that war brings grief and death to people and cannot be considered holy.

He made these remarks in an interview with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

Prior to this, Epiphanius revealed Patriarch Filaret’s final prophecy.

It was previously reported that the funeral services for Patriarch Filaret in Kyiv lasted three days.

In addition, the Zelenskys attended the funeral ceremony for Patriarch Filaret.