During his visit to Ukraine, Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople refused to meet with the believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, since they do not recognize his “ecumenical” authority, which are only in the fantasies of the head of the Phanar. This was stated to the UOJ by the head of the Ukrainian Politics Foundation / UP Foundation, historian, political scientist Konstantin Bondarenko.

He believes that Patriarch Bartholomew “lives in his own world”, in full confidence that the OCU, which was created by him, united Orthodox Ukrainians, although in reality everything happened on the contrary. “He (Patriarch Bartholomew – Ed.) probably believes that his actions were correct, and he unites the Orthodox world. In fact, he introduces a very serious split, and this applies not only to Ukrainian Orthodoxy, but also to the world,” the expert said.

Konstantin Bondarenko believes that the arrival of the head of the Phanar to Ukraine will not provoke an increase in the persecution of the UOC by the authorities, since the politicians who invited him were guided solely by their PR, and not by religious motives. But at the same time, new attempts to seize churches by supporters of the OCU are possible. “This will add fuel to the fire, and there will be attempts to seize churches, but I think it’s real in this situation: the President’s Office ticked the box “Bartholomew has arrived”, made a photo session, and that was all,” the political scientist said. “Those who invited him do not think in terms of ecumenism, religiosity, faith, they think in terms of PR and ideological manipulation, nothing more.”