Six years ago, on December 15, 2018, the Unification Council was held in Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, which became a fateful event for Ukrainian Orthodoxy. The Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) emphasizes the historical importance of the Council.
“We have overcome past divisions, external artificial isolation and have finally realized the dream of many generations of Ukrainians – our Church is now autocephalous, that is, independent, recognized, equal in rights with other local Orthodox Churches around the world,” the official statement says.
During the Council, a single local Ukrainian Orthodox Church was formed and its Primate, His Beatitude Metropolitan Epifaniy of Kyiv and All Ukraine, was elected.
The church emphasizes that this was “the result of free unity, free brotherhood, free expression of will and the people’s common aspiration, hope, and faith.”
At the same time, the OCU acknowledges that there have been many challenges over the years: “Attempts to destroy or devalue the achievements of the Unification Council are still ongoing. Unfortunately, there are still a certain number of Orthodox Ukrainians who still remain in the spiritual shackles of the Moscow regime, poisoned by the pseudo-religious teachings of the ‘Russian world’ and misled by the Moscow Patriarchate.”
Despite difficulties, the OCU is full of optimism: “We believe that they too will learn the truth and throw off the spiritual yoke. And we must continue our work: to stand by our people, to affirm unity and brotherhood, to help, support, fight evil, bringing victory closer.”
The Church considers the Council to be a manifestation of the action of Divine will: “We recognize, first of all, that the Unification Council of December 15, 2018, was truly a manifestation of the action of the Holy Spirit and a blessing for our pious Ukrainian people.”
The address ends with the traditional “Glory to Jesus Christ!”
