Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church stated that there is “state pressure on canonical church structures” in Ukraine, the Baltic states, and Moldova.
He made this statement during his speech at a reception at the Russian Foreign Ministry.
At the same time, the Moscow Patriarch accused the Patriarch of Constantinople of causing an “inter-Orthodox crisis.”
“An alien doctrine of special powers of authority of the Patriarch of Constantinople continues to be imposed from outside. It has become the ideological basis for the Phanar’s грубое вторжение into the church life of Ukraine and, as a result, has led to a prolonged crisis in inter-Orthodox relations,” he said.
According to Kirill, “state pressure by the Ukrainian authorities on the Church has taken on the character of open religious persecution.”
He also added that in the Baltic states and Moldova, “state pressure on the structures of the Moscow Patriarchate is increasing, including through the adoption of discriminatory legislative acts.” In particular, the Moscow Patriarch sees a “threat to the very existence of the Estonian Orthodox Christian Church.”
Earlier, it was reported that the Russian Orthodox Church has once again claimed “pressure from the authorities of Ukraine, Moldova, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania on canonical church structures.”

LF comment:

It should be recalled that PACE, in two of its resolutions, has delivered harsh political and legal assessments the role of patriarch Kirill, linking his position to the ideological justification of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. At the same time, he has been included on sanctions lists of the United Kingdom, Canada, Ukraine, Lithuania, and the Czech Republic, having been recently removed from the European Union lists under pressure from Hungary under the leadership of Orban, which underscores the unacceptability of the aggressive and militaristic rhetoric of the Russian Orthodox Church among Western and European states.