The Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church has dismissed Metropolitan Hilarion as the Chairman of the Department for External Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate—a position similar to the foreign minister.
The dismissal is believed to be a result of Hilarion's open-minded profile, which differed from that of Patriarch Kirill, during this time of conflict. The Russian Orthodox bishops have supported the invasion of Ukraine from the very beginning.
Hilarion is 55 years old and had held his post since 2009. He will also step down as rector of the Cyril and Methodius Institute of Ecclesiastical Studies and be replaced by Metropolitan Anthony.
Additionally, the Chief Rabbi of Moscow, Pinchas Goldschmidt, has taken refuge in Hungary after refusing to support the invasion of Ukraine. His daughter-in-law posted the update on Twitter. Goldschmidt says he received a lot of pressure from the authorities since the beginning of the war, but that he is now safe in Hungary
RM
TR: KG
