Patriarch Bartholomew cannot represent Churches that do not agree with his policy, he can only represent himself, said the chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeyev) of Volokolamsk, RIA Novosti writes.

In his opinion, Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, who is trying to use it for personal purposes, creates problems for the Orthodox-Catholic dialogue.

“In relations with the Roman Catholic Church, the Patriarch of Constantinople positions himself as the head of the entire Orthodox Church. And this is the big problem of the Orthodox-Catholic dialogue, especially after the Eucharistic unity has been violated within the Orthodox Church,” he said.

Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, added Hilarion, today cannot represent either the Russian Orthodox Church, which does not commemorate him in its diptychs, or other Orthodox churches that do not agree with his policy. “He can represent himself, the Church of Constantinople, probably, he can represent those churches that will authorize him to do this. But this is not the majority of Orthodox believers, but much less than half of Orthodox believers,” the bishop added.