The head of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, Metropolitan Epifaniy, spoke about the “mission Eastward” and why it is so important for the OCU to be present in the East of Ukraine. He noted that Russia seeks to have its own church and territory in Ukraine, while Ukrainians have nothing in the Russian Federation.
“We see what is happening in the occupied territories of Crimea and Donbas. Are there peace, freedom, and rights there? There are no such things there and no one even talks about it there. Occasionally, some international organizations speak, but they have no free access to these territories. The occupiers are trying to oust our Church from there in every possible way because for them, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine is a Ukrainian center thy see as a threat,” Metropolitan Epifaniy said in an interview with Detector.ua.
Epifaniy has raised the question of why Russia wants to have everything in Ukraine, including its own Church.
“But what do Ukrainians have in the Russian Federation? Despite the fact that millions of Ukrainians live there, do they have the opportunity to visit Ukrainian churches, to use the Ukrainian language freely, as the Russians want to do here? The only Ukrainian library has been destroyed. There is no typical temple, no Ukrainian center… So to say the least it is weird and unfair: you want to have everything here (language, Church, rule, and influence), while to Ukrainians you give absolutely nothing. You are destroying even what used to be Ukrainian in the occupied territory of Crimea and Donbas…,” Metropolitan Epifaniy emphasized.
At the same time, the head of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine added that the OCU is doing everything to develop the Church in the East of Ukraine, even under such difficult conditions.
“The example of Mariupol is eloquent. There are about 10 Russian Orthodox communities there, but eight temples of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine have been built recently. This shows that our Church is gradually developing in the region. We are now working to have a powerful spiritual center of the OCU, and even some Moscow parishes are gradually joining the process. I believe that this process is irreversible, and in the East of Ukraine our Church will gradually develop and strengthen itself, despite opposition. This is evidenced by opinion polls stating the commitment of the people of the East to the OCU: it is high – twice the numbers seen for the Moscow Patriarchate. Therefore, the Ukrainian Church in the East has a great future!” Epifaniy concluded.
It should be recalled that Metropolitan Epifaniy said the OCU’s plans include cooperation with the Churches that have not yet decided on the OCU recognition.
