His Beatitude Patriarch Theodoros II of Alexandria and All Africa commemorated Epiphany Dumenko, the primate of the schismatic “Orthodox Church of Ukraine,” during the Divine Liturgy at the Church of the Archangels in Daher in the Cairo Governorate on November 8, 2019.
The Patriarch noted that no Synodal decision was made on recognizing the OCU, but that he made the decision himself, reflecting on the general consensus of the bishops of the Patriarchate.
Deputy Chairman of the Synodal Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, Archpriest Nikolay Balashov, told Interfax on Friday, “The Russian Orthodox Church is deeply saddened by the reports on Patriarch Theodore of Alexandria’s decision to recognize Epiphany Dumenko as the leader of the ‘Orthodox Church of Ukraine’ and commemorate his name in the Church of Alexandria’s diptychs. This means that the name of the Patriarch of Alexandria can no longer be commemorated during patriarchal services in the Russian Orthodox Church.”
