Russian Church hopes South Ossetians’ wish to have their own canonical clergy will be Considered
Moscow, November 9, Interfax – The Moscow Patriarchate hopes that the problem with canonical status of South Ossetian Orthodox community will be settled through the dialogue between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Georgian Orthodox Church taking into account “ardent wish” of the republic citizens to “have their own canonically recognized clergy.”
“It’s evident that social views, citizen position of this clergy should be inalienable from the choice made by South Ossetian people, inalienable from the processes that take place in South Ossetian society. I think today no one can deny the fact that only such clergy can be accepted by South Ossetian people,” head of the Synodal Department for Church and Society Relations Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin said at a round table held in the Orthodox Rus exhibition forum.
According to the priest, all Orthodox Christians should care for settling canonical status of clergy and church communities in South Ossetia.
“We hope that considerations of pastoral care, pastoral love to those who are in a difficult condition today will prevail and leaders of the Holy God’s Churches will find a way to settle the existing problem,” Fr. Vsevolod stressed.
