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The global head of Eastern Orthodoxy offered a rare public criticism when he condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, saying “the whole world is against Russia.”
During an interview with CNN TÜRK, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople said he maintained “a very good relationship” with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy while he described how Russia’s recent military actions have strained the country’s relationship with the rest of the world.
“We are entering a new era of Cold War,” said Patriarch Bartholomew, according to a report. “The distance between Russia and not only Ukraine but the whole Western world, Russia and the Western world is getting bigger. It means that we are entering a new Cold War period.”
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“Anyone who thinks right and acts right does not want this situation, this new Cold War period. As a religious institution, our Patriarchate, has always been in favor of peace and unity, and we continue to do so. We have especially strengthened our prayers these days,” he added.
Current archbishop of Constantinople and ecumenical patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople serves the service at the principal Eastern Orthodox St. George’s Cathedral in Istanbul, Turkey, November 30, 2020. (Photo by Sergii Kharchenko/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
The patriarch of Constantinople serves as the first among equals of the decentralized Eastern Orthodox communion. He presides over any council of Orthodox primates, and he serves as a spokesperson for the Orthodox communion.
When Ukraine gained its independence from the former Soviet Union, the Ecumenical Patriarch said the Orthodox church also granted the country its own independent Orthodox Church. In 2019, a Ukrainian Orthodox Church based in Kyiv formally separated from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church that looks to…
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