Pat. of Jerusalem weighs in on Orthodoxy in Ukraine

Kiev, March 30, (Interfax) - Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem said Orthodox believers should settle the problem of schism in Ukraine without attracting arbiters from outside.

"You yourself should find common language," the Patriarch said in his interview with Ukrainian edition of the Kommersant daily.

Commenting on the earlier attempts to attract Patriarch Bartholomew for settling their problems, Theophilos III stressed that "Patriarch Bartholomew is not the Pope of Rome who solves everything for all Catholics in the world."

"He has a coordinating role and is incarnation, a symbol of unity for Orthodox churches. The Ecumenical Patriarch has a privilege to convene meetings and councils. Such problems should be settled at such meetings and not to think that the Ecumenical Patriarch will settle everything for Ukrainian Orthodox believers," the Patriarch of Jerusalem said.

Theophilos III arrived in Kiev where he participated in the conference World Religions and Civil Society United against Hatred and Extremism.