The OCU was created to exacerbate religious confrontation between the Ukrainian and Russian peoples. This was stated by the head of the DECR of the Moscow Patriarchate, Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeyev) of Volokolamsk, Fraza reports.

“We remember well how the schismatic structure in Ukraine was legalized under the influence of the American administration. And now we are seeing how America supports this schismatic structure with all its might. So, when the US Secretary of State recently visited Ukraine, he only met with the leader of the Ukrainian schismatics. He did not meet with either the head of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church, or with representatives of other religious confessions – only with the schismatic leader, because this so-called “church” is a creature of the United States of America, ”Metropolitan Hilarion said.

In his opinion, the activities of the OCU are aimed at “driving a wedge between the Russian and Ukrainian peoples, not only politically, but also religiously.”