The rector of the Kiev Theological Academy and Seminary, Bishop Belogorodsky Sylvester, in an interview published on the website of the Serbian Orthodox Church, commented on the situation that developed in Ukraine as a result of the non-canonical actions of the Patriarchate of Constantinople:

“Representatives of the Phanar, and I believe this is obvious to everyone, were guided by their personal, power-hungry desires. Everyone understands that today we are witnessing Phanar’s unprecedented attempts to build a church structure in such a way that at the top, with some excessive powers, was the head of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. And, of course, this completely contradicts the original, ancient, traditional and catholic principle implemented in the Church at the level of Ecumenical and Local Councils.

Patriarch Bartholomew, in a single-person version with respect to Ukraine, resolved this issue without coordinating it not only with the Russian Orthodox Church, but also with other Orthodox Churches. An eloquent example: the former Metropolitan Filaret (Denisenko) was recognized as a schismatic by the Phanariots themselves for many decades, and all Local Churches considered him as such – not a year or two, but for decades. Before making any important decisions on Ukraine, Patriarch Bartholomew had to find out the opinion of the Local Orthodox Churches on this issue. By his decision, Patriarch Bartholomew showed not only his attitude towards the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, he, in principle, showed his attitude towards the Local Churches and towards the issue of church structure. What is called “Eastern papism” is now fully developing. It is enough to realize that any bishop who believes that he has some kind of extraordinary powers, opportunities and position, and is looking for theological justification for such an opinion, inevitably takes the path of papism.