The Jerusalem Patriarch condemns attempts of churches seizure in Ukraine
June 6, 2017 – Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem speaks against attempts of Ukrainian breakaway groups to capture churches belonging to believers of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
“We decisively condemn those, who commit actions aimed against parishes of the canonical Orthodox Church in Ukraine. It is not in vain that the holy fathers remind us that destruction of church unity, a schism, is the hardest sin,” the patriarch said at the reception dedicated to the main feast of the chief Russian church in the Holy Land – the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Jerusalem.
Patriarch Theophilos, who was quoted by the website of the Russian Ecclesiastic Mission in Jerusalem, wished the Holy Spirit enlightened minds, hearts and gave strength to “preserve precious gift of church unity granted to us by divine providence.”
Sources
https://mospat.ru/en/2017/06/06/news147188/