The Russian Orthodox Church has announced its resistance to the leader of the world Orthodox community, saying that it will not participate in events headed by the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
The "split" in the church is the result of a dispute over the control of the Ukrainian church.
At a meeting of leading priests, the Russian Church announced that it will not even mention Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in prayers.
The meeting was held to respond to last week's decision of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, which supported the autocephaly of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
The spokesman of the Russian Church, Hilarion, said that the response of the Orthodox Church of Russia "does not mean the complete termination of the Eucharistic communion".
Nevertheless, it acts as a significant resistance to the authority of Bartholomew, who is considered first among equals among Orthodox leaders.
The Interfax agency reports that Hilarion warned of a schism in the church if attempts to free the Ukrainian church from Russian control continue.
"We will be forced to completely abolish the Eucharistic communion and this will mean that the Patriarch of Constantinople, who is often placed before the 300 million Orthodox, will no longer be in charge," Hilarion said.
The church in Ukraine has been linked to the Russian Patriarchate for hundreds of years, although some parishes have formed a separate church in the last two decades.
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