Metropolitan Epifaniy announced the gradual process of uniting Orthodox Ukrainians into a single Church. According to him, in some regions, all communities that previously belonged to the Moscow Patriarchate have already come under the jurisdiction of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, and the process is gradually moving further to the central parts of the country. The Metropolitan also stated that priests who do not wish to remain part of the Russian Orthodox Church are increasingly joining the Church.
“These days, in particular during the visit to Volyn, many people asked me about the transition of parishes from the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate to our Church: how many, how quickly, why they are still hesitating, how we will act, etc. My answer was as follows: I believe that gradually, with God’s help, in a legal, reasonable, and peaceful way, our Ukrainian Orthodox Church will serve in all Orthodox shrines, which are the property of our people and are in the possession of our state. We want all Orthodox Ukrainians to be in a single local Orthodox Church, pray to God, serve, and be truly loyal citizens of the Ukrainian state, not poisoned by Russian neo-imperial ideology. The Ukrainian Church must guard our spiritual space! For too long, the ideology of the ‘Russian world’ has been instilled in us and now it has brought war and destruction to our peaceful home, so we must all unite for the sake of our future, our people, and the good of our state. And it will happen – in the time, determined by God. And now a gradual but irreversible process of unification of Orthodox Ukrainians in a single Church is underway. I would call it a peaceful evolution. In some regions, all the existing communities that were with the MP have already left this jurisdiction. From the West of Ukraine, this process is gradually moving further, towards the center. More and more communities are joining our Church, and more and more often they are doing so together with their priests who do not wish to continue lying and be part of the Russian Orthodox Church. And this is a good trend,” Epifaniy wrote on social media.
The Metropolitan emphasized that the Ukrainian Church should be the guardian of the country’s spiritual space and unite all Orthodox Ukrainians into a single local Orthodox Church, which will serve in all Orthodox shrines operating in Ukraine.
“We are all called to unity, to be in a single Church but everyone goes through this path differently. As various streams form a big river, so do we, Orthodox Ukrainians, unite into a single ‘river,’ into a single local Orthodox Church of Ukraine. We have our own independent state and will have a single, powerful Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which will unite all Orthodox Ukrainians in its family. We pray for it, we ask God for it, and the Lord creates the appropriate conditions. Thank God for everything!” OCU Primate wrote.
