14th September 2018, Extraordinary session of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church was held at the Patriarchal Residence in St. Daniel Monastery, Moscow.
The Session was called and conducted by the First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill.
Metropolitan Vladimir of Chisinau and all Moldova participated in the session as permanent member of the Holy Synod.
The main issue discussed at the Holy Synod Session was the decision of Oecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew to sent to Ukraine two exarchs preparing the process of Ukrainian Church’s autocephaly (autonomy).
Due to severe health issues, His Beatitude Onufry, Metropolitan of Kyiv and all Ukraine, permanent member of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, could not participate physically in the Synod session. However, a video conference was held between the Synod members and Metropolitan Onufry, in which His Beatitude informed the Synod of the current situation in Ukraine. Thus, Metropolitan Onufry communicated that the two exarchs of the Oecumenical Patriarchate arrived in Ukraine to discuss with the schismatic parties, but were not received by the legitimate Orthodox Church of Ukraine for the reason that they were not invited and the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church did not require any autocephaly from any Orthodox jurisdiction.
Patriarch Kirill qualified the act of the Oecumenical Patriarchate as immixture into internal affairs of a sister-church, appreciating it as anti-canonical.
Synodal Sector of Institutional Communication and Mass-Media Relations