Head of Czech Orthodox Church opposes attempts to legalize religious split in Ukraine

Archbishop of Presov, Metropolitan of the Czech Lands and Slovakia, Rostislav has reaffirmed his position on government interference in the internal life of the Church in Ukraine, calling on all heads of local churches to condemn “any attempt to legalize Ukrainian schismatics,” the website of the Moscow Patriarchate said on Friday. He wrote in a letter to Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia that “any conflict situations and controversial issues threatening the unity of Orthodoxy will be resolved jointly, in strict accordance with generally accepted church traditions and sacred canons.” The world Orthodoxy recognizes the only canonical head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate), Metropolitan Onuphrius of Kiev and All Ukraine, the letter said. It added that this fact was confirmed by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople during a meeting of heads of Orthodox churches held in Chambesy, Switzerland on January 21-27, 2016.