The Synod of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine calls on the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew to recognize the ideology of the so-called "Russian world" as heretical, and the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, a schismatic with further deprivation of his right to occupy the patriarchal throne.

"I appeal to you with a request to initiate at the pan-Orthodox level the consideration and condemnation of the activities of Moscow Patriarch Kirill Gundyaev and the ethnophyletic and racist doctrine of the 'Russian world' that he preaches," according to the letter of the OCU Primate, Metropolitan Epiphany, the text of which was agreed upon at the Synod meetings.

It notes that the Metropolitan, and later Patriarch Kirill "never was the standard for confession of the Orthodox faith, and some of his theological statements, for example, the identification of the Third Hypostasis of the Holy Trinity with the "Divine energy eternally descended from God the Father" – even caused controversy and temptation among clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church.

"Cyril's almost complete indifference to theological problems protected him from completely falling into the space of heresy. The situation changed when the hierarch, whose attention had long been focused on geopolitical issues, decided to join in the creation of the doctrine of the 'Russian world' - a nationalist ethnophyletic theory about the special role of the Russian nation and state in the world and the Church," according to the letter.

It says that the denial of the freedom of entire peoples is combined in the worldview of Patriarch Kirill and his like-minded people "with a racist theory in its spirit, according to which Russia and the 'Russian world' are something fundamentally better and higher than other peoples, and Russia's historical neighbors are Ukrainians and Belarusians have the right to exist and the future only as part of Russian reality."

"It is quite logical within the framework of this racist concept, which divides peoples and states into 'real' and 'artificial,' the fundamental denial of the right of the people of Ukraine to full canonical church independence (autocephaly) and statehood looks like," the OCU said.

They said it is very important to understand that the ideology of the modern Russian Orthodox Church contains "a threat not only to Ukraine, but to the entire Orthodox world."

"It is important to be aware of the connection between the doctrine of the 'Russian world' and specific ecclesiastical decisions initiated by Patriarch Kirill in recent years – from the rupture of Eucharistic communion with the Ecumenical Patriarchate (October 15, 2018) to the creation of the Patriarchal Exarchate of Africa (December 29, 2021) and active support of Russia's armed aggression against Ukraine (2022)," the OCU said in the letter.

It clarifies that, starting at least in October 2018, all the actions of Patriarch Kirill are subordinated to a specific political goal and he seeks "to radically increase the presence of the Russian Orthodox Church outside Russia, to weaken the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Greek-speaking Local Churches as much as possible and thus impose on the Orthodox world the hegemony and dictatorship of the Moscow patriarch."

"We call on your all-holiness and the primates of the Local Orthodox Churches to also consider, as soon as possible, the activities of Patriarch Kirill related to his opposition to the Ecumenical Patriarchate and many Local Orthodox Churches, and, if this activity is recognized as containing signs of schism, bring the patriarch to canonical responsibility," the OCU said.

They call to condemn the doctrine of the "Russian world" and recognize it as heretical, to qualify the actions of Patriarch Kirill on the canonical territory of the Patriarchate of Alexandria as schismatic, and to deprive Gundyaev of the right to occupy the Moscow Patriarchal Throne.