Zoria calls on activists of Belarus to protest against Belarusian Church
Autocephaly will allow gaining real independence from Russia, so it should become one of the main goals of the protesters in Belarus, the OCU spokesman believes.
The Belarusians must finally understand that they will not be able to build a democratic country with “strict subordination to the Moscow Patriarchate”, the “hierarch” of the OCU Eustratiy Zoria believes.
“Will anything happen that will make Belarusians understand that only real independence from Russia (including church autocephaly) is the only way to achieve the tasks that the protesters now set for themselves?” wrote the spokesman of the OCU on his Facebook page. “Or will they continue to indulge themselves with the illusion that one can simultaneously achieve the right to elect the President themselves and be friends with Russia, which has not had such a right since the first elections of Yeltsin? That one can remain in strict subordination to the Moscow Patriarchate, which is tied hand and foot to the Kremlin, and build a democratic country despite the Kremlin's will? "
In addition, he noted, the Russian Orthodox Church is now "really scared that the Belarusians will demand autocephaly". This, in his opinion, is evidenced by the appointment of the new head of the Belarusian Exarchate – "the arch-super-loyal-to-Moscow Veniamin", whom Zoria called "the local Onuphry".
As reported earlier, the head of the OCU Epiphany called on the Belarusians to ask the Phanar for their Tomos.
