In recent days, social media have been flooded with reports alleging that the exarchate of the Ecumenical Patriarchate” is set to be registered in Ukraine with the UOC (MP) allegedly intending to accede to it in order to finally sever ties with the Moscow Patriarchate. While most reports, with some exceptions, talk about a major mediating mission that the Ecumenical Patriarchate has been carrying out in the process of reconciliation and ensuring unity of Ukrainian Orthodoxy, they openly manipulate or misinform the public, pursuing the authors’ interests. At the same time, the SFU editorial office is aware of attempts to dialogue between the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, regarding the latter’s withdrawal from the Moscow Patriarchate under the “canonical guarantees of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.”
A more comprehensive refutation of the manipulation of this topic is yet to be published on our platform.
Our editorial office has gained access to two official letters, both sent in 2023, that can shed light on the actual situation in the field of interjurisdictional relations and government policy in the religious area.
The first letter is the response of the OCU Primate, Metropolitan Epifaniy, to the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, about the unpreparedness/inappropriateness (read: “unfeasibility”) of deploying the Synodal Commission of the Ecumenical Patriarchate on the issue of unity of Ukrainian Orthodoxy.
The second letter is signed by Archimandrite Gregorios, the Chief Secretary of the Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate at the time, regarding the decision of the synod to deploy a synodal commission to Ukraine, along with the list of its members and the explanation of the visit’s purpose.
Also, SFU’s sources told us that on July 8, 2023, Patriarch Bartholomew announced readiness to send a delegation to Ukraine in line with the Synod’s decision and announced its members – Metropolitan Hilarion, Metropolitan Iov of Pisidia and Patriarchal Deacon Epiphanios, who have the authority to communicate with the heads and representatives of the OCU and UOC (MP), as well as representatives of specialized government bodies. The President of Ukraine expressed hope for the Ecumenical Patriarch’s successful assistance in the process of unification of Ukrainian Orthodoxy, as well as openness to dialogue with representatives in Ukraine designated by the Ecumenical Patriarch.
Our editorial office believes the fact that the visit never happened can only be explained by the sabotage of the issue by a group of religiously-biased officials.
We believe experts can provide a more extensive analysis but we can already affirmatively state that
- The Ecumenical Patriarchate has practical means to help Ukraine in matters of reconciliation and unity of Ukrainian Orthodoxy because unity has not been achieved and the scenarios of draft law 8371 foresee no unity.
- Radical members of all Orthodox jurisdictions in Ukraine directly and deliberately oppose any dialogue.
- The President of Ukraine supports the idea of engaging the Ecumenical Patriarchate in the issue of reconciliation and ensuring unity of Ukrainian Orthodoxy.
It was manipulative element that drew our special attention: is the Ecumenical Patriarchate entitled to such actions? Our answer is yes! The Tomos of the Autocephaly of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine stipulates that, if no agreement is reached, the right of all bishops and other clergy to appeal to the Ecumenical Patriarch, who has the canonical responsibility to make non-appeal court decisions for bishops and other clergy of local Churches, shall be preserved.
For now, it is too early to talk about possible scenarios of reconciliation and ensuring unity of Ukrainian Orthodoxy because most manipulations attempt to reduce reality to the system of interests of certain Orthodox jurisdictions, our editorial office believes.
