The rite of world formation scheduled by the Patriarchate of Constantinople for April 2022 with the participation of representatives of other local churches and the so-called OCU will show the true preferences of those churches that will take part in it, and may become a kind of “moment of truth” in defining a new alignment of forces and allies in the Orthodox world. This opinion was expressed by member of the Synodal Biblical and Theological Commission and the Inter-Council Presence of the Russian Orthodox Church, chairman of the Byzantine club “Katekhon” Arkady Mahler.

“Unfortunately, many local churches continue to receive sacred myrrh from the Patriarchate of Constantinople. This is wrong, because by doing so they make themselves dependent on it, this is a certain infringement of their autocephaly, sovereignty. Of course, at any moment, each of them can renounce There will be no canonical violation here, especially in a situation where the Patriarchate of Constantinople claims full supremacy in the entire Orthodox world,” said Arkady Mahler.

He explained that the current situation, when there are a number of churches that receive myrrh from Constantinople, is only a tribute to respect and tradition that consolidated the understanding of the Constantinople See in the Orthodox world as the first among equals. Ideally, the expert noted, each autocephalous (independent) church should brew myrrh for itself, as the Russian, Georgian and Romanian Orthodox churches already do.