The Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine does exist, but from the point of view of canon law, it shouldn’t.
This was emphasized by the spokesman for the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, Archbishop Yevstratiy (Zorya) of Chernihiv and Nizhyn, who spoke at the “Time: Online” panel show on TV Channel 5
“After the proclamation of the Tomos of Autocephaly, which we know was signed and presented to the Primate of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, Epifaniy, by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in Phanar in early January 2019, all religious Orthodox bodies, dioceses, monasteries, and others must be part of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, as an autocephalous church, throughout Ukraine. That’s how it’s laid down in the Tomos,” the OCU spokesman said.
“Accordingly, our church refers to the structure that exists outside the OCU, namely, belongs to the Russian Orthodox Church, as a ‘canonical anomaly.’ That is, in reality, it does exist, but from the point of view of canon law, it shouldn’t, because in Ukraine, there should be one Local Orthodox Church, as it is one in Georgia, one in Romania, one in Bulgaria, and one in Russia,” states Yevstratiy (Zorya).
He adds: “Why should there another jurisdiction coexist in Ukraine with the local church? That jurisdiction is allegedly shifting away from the Moscow Patriarchate, but how real is this distancing? Is it a virtual distancing? Was there ever any distancing or was it all just about public statements – we are yet to find out.”
