Moscow. August 30. INTERFAX – Patriarch Irinej of Serbia addressed to Patriarch Bartholomew with an open letter in which he stated that, although the Patriarchate of Constantinople is the Mother Church of Kiev and Moscow, it does not give him the right to interfere in their Affairs.

“The honor and dignity of “the Church materinstvo VA” does not provide the Mother Church the right to ignore or, worse, to question historically educated autocephaly and jurisdiction,” said the Serbian Patriarch, quoted by the Greek Church news Agency “Romfea”.

The Agency notes that the basis for writing the letter was the concern of the Serbian Synod and the Patriarch of the unity of the Orthodox Church in connection with the intervention of Constantinople hierarchs in the “Ukrainian question”.

Patriarch Irinej reminded that the Church in Crete confirmed the existence of 14 Autocephalous Churches in their present canonical limits. This statement of the Cathedral on Crete confirmed that the Autonomous Ukrainian Orthodox Church under the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate.

The letter of the Patriarch of Serbia, published on the eve of the negotiations of the Constantinople and Moscow patriarchs which will be held on Friday in Istanbul which is expected to discuss the status of the Church in Ukraine.