The Russian church on Monday said that it could no longer continue being in “Eucharistic communion” with the Istanbul religious body. This means that Russian Orthodox believers can no longer take communion with people from other branches of the church.
Igor Girkin https://twitter.com/girkingirkin the most publicly prominent among the first wave of Russian commanders of the Kremlin campaign in eastern Ukraine during spring and summer 2014.
“My personal bodyguard was exclusively made up of monks from the Sviatohirsk Cave Monastery, right down to the last man,” said Girkin during his recent interview. “There were not so many of them. Nevertheless, they were there.” The Sviatohirsk Cave Monastery, also known as the Sviatohirsk Lavra, is a monastery complex in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine loyal to the Russian Orthodox Church.
Girkin’s comments will further strengthen the widespread belief within Ukrainian society that the Russian Orthodox Church is intimately involved in the Kremlin attack on Ukraine. Priests of the Russian Orthodox Church stand accused of everything from harboring weapons and blessing fighters to serving in the ranks of the Kremlin’s military formations.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian Orthodox priests loyal to the Moscow Patriarchate have refused to provide burial services for Ukrainian soldiers killed in the conflict and have shunned public memorials honoring the fallen. This has dramatically undermined the spiritual authority of the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine, leading to the defection of entire congregations from the Moscow to the Kyiv Patriarchate and forcing millions of Ukrainians to question how they can continue worshipping in a church that aligns itself with their nation’s enemies. By highlighting the dangers posed by continued Russian Orthodox influence in the country, it has also made the creation of an international recognized independent Ukrainian Orthodox Church a matter of national security.
False.
Moscow has broken Eucharistic communion ONLY with the Ecumenical Patriarchate (EP). The EP has NOT reciprocated.
No other Pastriarcahte has broken Eucharistic communion with either the EP or the Moscow Patriarchate.
The only other breach of Eucharistic communion existing at this time is between Jerusalem and Antioch.