The Assembly of the French Orthodox Bishops (AEOF) published a statement on the situation created by the Ukrainian issue.
During their regular session from October 16, 2018, the members of the Assembly of French Orthodox Bishops (AEOF) present expressed their deep sadness at the current situation created by the Ukrainian issue.
This situation affects not only the manifestation of the unity of Orthodoxy, but also the inter-Orthodox collaboration within the episcopal assemblies. The absence of the hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church within the AEOF goes beyond the relationships between the Churches of Constantinople and Moscow, and affects the whole Orthodox Church.
Consequently, the bishops members of the AEOF call to prayer for the speedy resolution of the dispute, as well as for the unity of Orthodoxy in general.
Unity is indeed a direct command that Christ Himself gave us : “That they all may be one, as You, Father, are in me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. (Jn 17:21) For unity is the very condition of the testimony of Orthodox faith in the world.”
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