Volunteers from the city of Odesa and the entire region gathered at the humanitarian coordination headquarters. Everyone wants to talk to Metropolitan Epifaniy of Kyiv and All Ukraine. The primary topic is the unification of the church. As long as we have no strong Ukrainian Church, we will never build a strong state, states the head of the OCU. He emphasizes that today, he advocates for all Orthodox Ukrainians to unite, since the church is the spiritual basis of statehood as such.
“Everyone should understand that among the components of this war is the spiritual part, and Putin, the aggressor power, is exploiting it quite successfully now in Ukraine as we see what is happening in the occupied territories. It’s a shame that almost 100% of the Moscow Patriarchate clergy support the occupiers,” said Epifaniy.
The Orthodox Church of Ukraine declared from the very beginning the need for joint dialogue. It’s just that the representatives of the Moscow Patriarchate are yet to join the initiative. For his part, Epifaniy is sure that, had there been one church in Ukraine since the 1990s, there would have been no occupation of Crimea and no war. According to the top cleric, the church plays an important role, especially in the process of shaping up people’s patriotism, Novyny.LIVE reports.
“The Ukrainian people are a wise nation, and I think that these trials will open the eyes of many. And after our victory, everyone will unite into a single church. The process is irreversible, it has already begun, and it will be completed successfully,” the head of OCU emphasized.
The Metropolitan noted that today, the church helps displaced people and those who were left without a roof over their heads. Currently, a project of modular houses and food aid has been launched. In addition, ambulances are being purchased for soldiers at the front. During the meeting, the chaplain from Odesa, Oleksandr Chokov, who was part of the crew on the Sapphire tugboat, captured by the occupiers, asked Epifaniy to sign the Bible for his brothers who are now at the front lines.
Odesa volunteers also appealed to the Metropolitan with a request to provide assistance in purchasing a vehicle and equipment for free mobile dentistry. The head of the Ukrainian Church promised that he would look into the issue in a bid to provide help if possible.
