Expert says patriarch Kirill's visit to Ukraine won't resolve problem with split in Ukrainian church

Kyiv, July 27 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The visit to Ukraine by the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia Kirill, will have political consequences, but it won't resolve the problem with the split in the Ukrainian church, an expert has said.

"We expected the visit not only to be pastoral. First and foremost, it is pastoral, but there's no doubt that it will have political consequences," Expert in Religion, Head of the Religious Processes Section of the Religion Department at the Skovoroda Institute of Philosophy Liudmyla Fylypovych said at a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine on Monday.

She said that "it is quite unclear what these consequences will be, as the Synod's decisions are as yet unclear."

"We hope that the political situation in Ukraine won't worsen due to the arrival of the patriarch of Moscow. [We also hope] that it will bring peace to Ukraine," she said.

Fylypovych expressed regret that the program of the patriarch's visit did not foresee any meetings with members of rival churches.