Patriarch Filaret: There is no Pan-Russian people

When asked by the journalist of Priamyy TV-Channel if Ukraine received autocephaly, say, 5-10 years ago how would this affect Ukraine's development, Patriarch Filaret replied that the ongoing war would not have happened. The head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyivan Patriarchate also emphasized that Russians and Ukrainians are not one and the same people.

“If the Ukrainian Church were to be preserved undivided, then this war would not have been launched. Why would it not? Because Russia would have nobody to rely on. There are officials and part of the population in Ukraine who are pro-Russian. But this is not the kind of force that could help Russia capture Ukraine. But the Church is a great power. Since the Moscow Patriarchate is so large in Ukraine, Moscow relied on its support. And it really supports Moscow. Take Donbas, for example. The Ukrainian Church of the Moscow Patriarchate in Donbas fully supports the separatists and supports Russia.

If there was one Church, Putin would not have dared to attack not only Donbas, but even Crimea, neither he would be able to capture it. We want and believe that Kyiv will govern the Ukrainian Church. And Moscow will not have anything to do with Ukraine. And there is no Pan-Russian people. There is a Russian nation and there is an Ukrainian nation – these are two different nations. And we see the difference between the Ukrainian people and the Russian people. And one must not confuse the righteous with the wicked,” said Patriarch Filaret.