Source: National Catholic Register NEWS ANALYSIS: Pope Francis cautions Catholics not to ‘meddle’ in ecclesiological conflict between the Orthodox Church of Constantinople and the Russian Orthodox Church. Victor Gaetan The accelerating dispute in Ukraine between two Orthodox Churches — the Church of Constantinople, a historic Church with spiritual prestige, and the 140-million-member Russian Orthodox Church, a powerhouse in terms of membership muscle, political clout and wealth — is ominous because it forecasts conflict in a country already suffering a “fratricidal” war, to use Pope Francis’ term. The Russian Orthodox Church broke Eucharistic communion with the Church of Constantinople Oct. 15 in response…
Patriarch Filaret (r) of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Kiev's patriarchy speaks during a press conference in Kiev Oct. 11. The Istanbul-based Ecumenical Patriarchate on Oct. 11 said it had agreed to recognize the independence of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, a move strongly desired by Kiev but which risks stoking new tensions with Moscow. A synod meeting chaired by Patriarch Bartholomew, seen as the first among equals of Orthodox Church leaders, 'decreed to proceed to the granting of autocephaly to the Church of Ukraine,' said an official statement read in Istanbul, formerly Constantinople. (Genya Savilov/AFP/Getty Images)
