More than 200 priests of the UOC-MP have appealed to the Council of Primates of the Ancient Eastern Churches with a claim against Patriarch Cyril. The UOC-MP priests call on the Primates of Local Orthodox Churches to “consider the public statements of Patriarch Cyril of Moscow on the war against Ukraine and evaluate them in the light of the Holy Scriptures and the Sacred Tradition of the Church.” They also stated that it was impossible for them to remain part the Moscow Patriarchate, but took no official steps to sever ties with the latter.
The appeal was published by UOC-MP priest Andriy Pinchuk on Facebook.
It should be noted that the UOC-MP previously severed Eucharistic unity with all the Churches that had recognized the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, as did the Moscow Patriarchate. None of the signatories of the petition repented for the rupture of the Eucharistic union with the Mother Church and the Ecumenical Patriarch, and for slander against the OCU. Russia’s war against Ukraine has been going on for eight years already, and only now has the UOC-MP understood what the Moscow Patriarchate has been doing throughout this time.
Priests of the UOC-MP also call for consideration at the pan-Orthodox level of the doctrine of the “Russian world”, which has been promoted for years by Patriarch Cyril and which has become one of the ideological justifications for Russia’s war against Ukraine. They call to assess the doctrine from the Christian standpoint and, if the doctrine is condemned, to bring Patriarch Cyril to justice and deprive him of the right to hold the patriarchal throne.”
In addition, the UOC-MP priests have urged the leaders of all Churches “to call on the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, to immediately end the war and withdraw from all the occupied territories of sovereign Ukraine.”
Finally, the UOC-MP priests have called for a clear and unequivocal condemnation of the military aggression waged by the Russian Federation against Ukraine.
At the same time, the UOC-MP priests recall that in the history of the Russian Church there was also a precedent where an appeal was filed with the court of the Eastern Patriarchs. In 1666, it was the Eastern Patriarchs who condemned Moscow Patriarch Nikon, depriving him of his patriarchate and episcopal rank. Nikon was degraded to a simple monk and sent to a monastery for repentance.
“Today, when Moscow Patriarch Cyril openly supports Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, we, the priests of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate), have decided to appeal to the Council of Primates of the Ancient Eastern Churches against Patriarch Cyril.”
Priests of the UOC-MP accuse Cyril of:
- Preaching the doctrine of the “Russian world”, which does not correspond to Orthodox teachings and should be condemned as heresy; and
- Committing moral crimes, blessing the war against Ukraine, and fully supporting the aggressive actions of Russian forces in Ukraine.
“The actions of the Russian army around Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Okhtyrka, Hostomel, Vorzel, and especially Mariupol and Bucha, have obvious features of genocide of the Ukrainian people and cause outrage around the world… Patriarch Cyril’s blessing of Russia’s national guard has become an unequivocal approval of war that the Russian Federation has unleashed against Ukraine. Despite the fact that Patriarch Cyril for many years in his public statements (including during visits to Ukraine) stated that he considers the Orthodox Christians of Ukraine to be his flock for whom he is responsible, today he directly blesses the physical destruction of this flock by Russians forces,” said the priests of the UOC-Moscow Patriarchate.
The signatories declared it impossible “to remain in any form of canonical subordination to the Moscow Patriarch,” but de facto continue to remain part of it.
“We declare our allegiance to the Universal Orthodoxy, our desire for the fullness of our communion with it, and condemn any attempt to limit our involvement in it. We also believe that it is the fullness of the Ecumenical Orthodoxy that must today treat the statements and actions of Patriarch Cyril with all care and responsibility. The tragedy unfolding in Ukraine today was, among other things, the result of the policy pursued by Patriarch Cyril during his tenure at the helm of the Russian Orthodox Church. It is quite obvious that this has already become a challenge for the whole world Orthodoxy,” the priests of the UOC-MP stressed.
In March 2022, a group of Orthodox theologians issued a Declaration on the Doctrine of the “Russian World”, which has now been supported by more than 300 intellectuals from around the world.
