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Russian Orthodox Tells Vatican Ecumenist of Concern over Greek Catholics in Ukraine

24.06.2005, [17:26] // Foreign relations //

Moscow -- The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) is concerned over what it called “the expansion of Catholics in Ukraine.” Metropolitan Kirill (Gundyaev) of Smolensk and Kalinigrad, chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Russian Orthodox Church, stated this during a meeting with the Roman Catholic Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, in Russia’s capital, Moscow, on 22 June 2005.

According to an official statement of the ROC, “the Orthodox side pointed out that from the canonical, ecclesiastic and pastoral point of view, it is unacceptable to mention Kyiv in the title of the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and transfer his residence to this city.”

“The realization of this intention by the Ukrainian Greek Catholics can pose a serious obstacle for the development of Orthodox-Catholic relations, which is desired by the hierarchs of the two churches as well as by their faithful and people in Europe and throughout the world in general,” said Metropolitan Kirill.

RISU posted an earlier story from 22 June in which Cardinal Kasper was quoted as saying that he did not plan to talk about the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church at the 22 June meeting: "It's not my task to speak about another church, they must do it themselves; so it's not the point of my negotiations.”

Sources and earlier RISU story:

• http://pravoslavye.org.ua/index.php?r_type=news&action=fullinfo&id=7636

• http://portal-credo.ru/site/?act=monitor&id=6478

• http://www.risu.org.ua/eng/news/article;5829/