The Ukrainian authorities have invited Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople and Pope Francis to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Ukraine’s independence. The head of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, is considering whether these invitations will be accepted, the DECR Communication Service writes.

“I don’t want to be a fortuneteller, but I think that Patriarch Bartholomew will accept this invitation, but Pope Francis will not accept,” the hierarсh said.

“Patriarch Bartholomew is a man who hovers in the clouds of his illusions, ambitions, emotions, a person who has apparently lost touch with reality, since he passes off his fantasies as reality,” said Metropolitan Hilarion. – For example, he turns a blind eye to the fact that Ukraine has a multimillion-strong Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which has 12 and a half thousand parishes, more than 100 bishops, more than 250 monasteries and millions of believers. He claims that this Church does not seem to exist, but there is some other “church”, which he put together from two schismatic groups. ” Therefore, the DECR chairman believes, Patriarch Bartholomew will go to Ukraine in order to once again demonstrate to the world that the Ukrainian Church is the so-called “autocephalous church” he created. “But reality testifies to the opposite,” the hierarch emphasized.

“Patriarch Bartholomew made a big mistake, but, unfortunately, he does not want to admit it and cannot,” continued Vladyka Hilarion. “He will take various actions to convince the world that it was not his fault, that everyone around him was wrong.”

Speaking about Pope Francis, the archpastor noted that he is a person who thinks realistically and understands that if he arrives in Ukraine, he will inevitably be drawn into some form of recognition of schismatics. “I don’t think he will agree to this,” says the chairman of the Department for External Church Relations.