Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka's statement that autocephaly isn't going to happen is, according to ROC MP Archdeacon Andrey Kurayev a way of signaling to the Kremlin that it could if Moscow continues its push for the amalgamation of the two countries (nsn.fm/policy/kuraev-lukashenko-shantazhiruet-moskvu-belorusskim-cerkovnym-raskolom.html).
Given that under current rules, only an independent country can have an autocephalous church; and given that the support of the political leadership of that country for autocephaly appears a fundamental requirement – autocephaly in Ukraine would not have happened without the efforts of President Petro Poroshenko – this is a clear warning to Moscow, Kurayev says.
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