The archdiocese of the Western European parishes of the Russian tradition must strictly follow church canons, but at the same time not confuse the policy of Russia and the policy of the Patriarch of All Rus’. Metropolitan Ioann (Renneto) of Dubna, head of the Archdiocese, said this in an interview with Radio Liberty.

“I think that Patriarch Kirill made a big strategic, political and ecclesiastical mistake, because in the end he ended up on the sidelines of the Christian church. When our archdiocese merged with the Russian Orthodox Church three and a half years ago, we were able to have a dialogue. And now we see that the behavior of the patriarchal throne is politicized. The churches found themselves in a very difficult situation, because getting closer to Patriarch Kirill now means taking risks.

We must always strive to be realistic, and even more so in this tragic time, because soldiers and civilians die every day in war. It is not very easy to keep in touch with Russia, with the Moscow Patriarchate. Our archdiocese must strictly follow church canons, but at the same time not confuse the policy of Russia and the policy of the Patriarch of All Rus’. We have to constantly keep our distance, helping, participating in helping those who are suffering from the war,” he said.