"Nothing to surprise if the Church's canonic territories are distinct from the state borders, "- Dmitri Medvediev , Russian President said in his interview with journalists.
He was asked about the difference in the opinion of Russian Patriarch Kirill, who said that the South Ossetia and Abkhazian territories are the Georgian Patriarchate's canonic land; and the different point of view in this respect from Russian government. Medvediev replied that these are two different powers.
"The Russian government was taking decisions in very hard circumstances taking in view all aspects. Otherwise, no decisions could be taken. What about the Orthodox Church power, it has very different situation. I cannot enter too deep into it. This would be very incorrect from my position. Nevertheless, I will not hide that I has discussed this problem with Patriarch Kiril and with Georgian Patriarch. We meet many times to discuss this.
This is no wonder that the Church's canonic borders are not coincided with the state's ones. We are totally different states - Ukraine and Russia, but Russian Patriarch has authority over Ukraine, "- Medvediev said.
