The statement of the Moscow Patriarchate on the creation of an exarchate on the territory of the Alexandrian Church is a clear consequence of the Ukrainian church crisis, which continues to develop with unpredictable results. This is said in the statement of Metropolitan Isaiah of Tamassos and Orinis (Church of Cyprus), published on the website of the Metropolis headed by him.

According to him, due to the Ukrainian crisis, the trust between the Churches has been shaken, and any unilateral decision, if it is not considered collectively, will inevitably damage the balance of church relations between the local Orthodox Churches.

“This will lead to a further undermining of the Synodal system of Orthodoxy and will plunge the Orthodox Churches into the abyss of division and weakening. I have a feeling, and I would like to be mistaken, that as we go further, after the mistrust that the church crisis has produced in Ukraine, many Orthodox countries, instead of dialogue and reconciliation, before making final decisions, as was done in past, will move to unilateral decisions that will not be accepted by all Churches, thereby deepening the split between them. While the crisis of Orthodoxy continues, its enemies will celebrate an unexpected “gift” that we make with our own hands,” the hierarch stated.

He insists that “in the face of this danger, it is urgently necessary to convene the Synaxis of our Primates under the chairmanship, of course, of the First among our equal Orthodox, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, who, as before, is responsible for convening such an Assembly as it was before 2018, where many problems were solved there, albeit with difficulty,” and respect the future common solution.

“The neutrality of our Church, which concerned our initial position on the Ukrainian issue, was precisely aimed at avoiding an unforeseen development of events similar to those we are experiencing today, and to prevent our participation in geopolitical games,” recalled Metropolitan Isaiah.

If the Churches continue to follow the path of breaking communion, they will eventually become the religious groups closed to themselves within countries, losing their beneficial and peaceful task.

“There will be no winners or losers if this crisis drags on, because the damage done to our relations will irreparably hit the whole of Orthodoxy,” the hierarch warns, stressing that he is still optimistic.