The pressure on the canonical Orthodox Church will increase after the arrival of Patriarch Bartholomew, said the theologian of the Serbian Church.

After the visit of the head of Phanar to Ukraine, the attack on the canonical Orthodox Church will inevitably intensify, said Archpriest Darko Jogo of the Serbian Orthodox Church, professor at the Orthodox Theological Faculty of St. Basil of Ostrog University in East Sarajevo, in an interview with Sputnik Srbiјa.

The theologian noted that the OCU called Patriarch Bartholomew to Kyiv in order to demonstrate to the world that It is universally recognized by the Local Orthodox Churches, although this is not the case. But now Churches that did not want to clearly express their position on the OCU will have few opportunities to avoid conflict.

“It is inevitable that the attack on the canonical Orthodox Church will intensify after this visit,” Father Darko said. “Moreover, the space for maneuvering of the Local Orthodox Churches will narrow, including our Serbian Orthodox Church, which is currently trying to take a clear-cut canonical position. But it is somehow not involved in the conflict between Moscow and Constantinople, justifying it by the fact that ‘the conflict is not ours’.”

The professor is confident that “it will simply be impossible to follow any neutral course.” However, one should not be afraid of this.

“It has to become clear to us that the experience of Constantinople as the dominant church, rather than the geopolitical administration of the State Department, is illusory,” he stressed.

As reported by the UOJ, the head of Phanar said that there is no other way to unity except to recognize the OCU.