Serbian Patriarch Porfiry gave his first interview as Primate to the Serbian channel RTS on March 2. During the conversation, important and acute issues of the existence of the Serbian Church and Ecumenical Orthodoxy were raised, reports the Ignat RS Telegram channel.

The problems in Ukraine and the actual split in world Orthodoxy were not spared either. The correspondent recalled that in the dispute between Constantinople and Moscow over the Ukrainian church issue, the Serbian Orthodox Church sided with Moscow, but did not end relations with Constantinople, remaining on a certain middle line. The journalist asked the Patriarch if there was pressure from Constantinople for the Serbian Orthodox Church to recognize the OCU.

“I don’t know about such pressure,” the Patriarch replied, “but here is what is important to say on this topic, because our Church is often defined as the Church that sometimes supports Moscow on the one hand and Constantinople on the other. We are an autocephalous Church that has its own internal order. All Orthodox Churches are our sister Churches.

And in this case, as well as in principle, we are always on the side of the canons and on the side of order. We believe that at the moment, when it comes to the actions of the Patriarchate of Constantinople in Ukraine, they do not agree with the tradition of the Church and in this sense, if you like, we can say that we are on the side of the Russian Church. In fact, we are on the side of order and on the side of canons. And in this case, the Russian Church is really deprived of her rights.”

Noting the existence of a precedent, the reporter asked if the Patriarch had any fears that after Kiev autocephaly would be given to other churches that would demand it: the Macedonian, Montenegrin, even the church in Kosovo or the Croatian Orthodox Church.

“I am not a prophet,” the Patriarch replied, “but all the same, I hope that similar actions, as we saw in Ukraine, will not come to pass, because it became obvious that this caused great upheavals in relations between the Local Churches. This will be a lesson that can sober everyone up. Of course, when problems arise, we must talk and leave not our time, but God’s time, so that order can be restored.”