OCU Metropolitan Danylo said that authorities are "inventing war". Church says he was mistaken. VIDEO

Metropolitan Danylo (Mykhailo Kovalchuk) of Chernivtsi and Bukovyna of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine said in an address to the faithful that "the authorities are inventing a war". The OCU suggests that he could have made a mistake due to his age and the style of his speech.

Censor.NET reports this with reference to Hromadske.

"Dear brothers and sisters, dear pilgrims, we bow down before you because you overcome despite the impossible. Our authorities are either inventing a war or are afraid that Moscow will not condemn them and will not allow us to gather you in this sanctuary," the Metropolitan said in his speech to the faithful.

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The press service of the OCU explained that Metropolitan Daniel was referring to the officially established ban on mass pilgrimages, which was introduced because of the war.

"But this ban is not enforced in practice in the same way everywhere: when it comes to events organised by the Moscow Patriarchate, they are held without a ban. I can give examples of the pilgrimages to Pochayiv. This, as can be understood from the speech, is what outrages Metropolitan Danylo," said the spokesman for the Kyiv Metropolis of the OCU, Metropolitan Yevstratiy (Zorya).

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The OCU assured that its position on the war unleashed by Russia is "clear, unambiguous and has been repeatedly confirmed in documents and statements".

"... the definition of "fictitious war" categorically contradicts the position of the OCU and cannot in any way be interpreted not only as the official opinion of the Church, but also as an opinion at the level of its individual representatives. [...] It is quite obvious that he (the Metropolitan - Ed.) used the phrase "fictitious war" absolutely incorrectly and therefore should clarify that he did so by mistake. Perhaps this was due to his style of speech and age (74 years)," the spokesman said.

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He believes that, given the sensitivity of the topic, the wide resonance and the negative impression of the use of such words, Metropolitan Daniel should have given an explanation and apologised for the misleading statement.