On May 24, the Council of Bishops of the OCU addressed hierarchs, clergy, and the faithful under the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate in Ukraine.
This was reported by the Spiritual Front of Ukraine with reference to the OCU press service.
As a result, the Council of Bishops made the following decisions:
Called on the UOC-MP to start a formal dialogue without proclaiming preconditions
Called on the UOC-MP to recognize the decision of the Ecumenical Patriarchate to accept the clergy of the UOC-KP and the UAOC in canonical dignity
Called on the UOC-MP to withdraw the decision to sever communication with the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
Called on the UOC-MP to follow the tomos of autocephaly and to recognize the existence of the ROC in Ukraine as canonical anomaly
The Autocephalous Church already exists and cannot be “re-created,” so all those who wish to follow the canonical order must not seek any alternative, but unite with it. The Ecumenical Patriarchate will not create any alternative jurisdiction in Ukraine.
The Council of Bishops of the OCU called on the UOC-MP to support the idea of holding Russian Patriarch Cyril accountable and stripping him of his Patriarchal throne for supporting the war and “blessing” Russian occupiers
The OCU also called on the UOC-MP clergy to follow the tomos of autocephaly, which stipulates that all dioceses, monasteries, parishes, and other Orthodox church institutions must be under the jurisdiction of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Ukraine.
“The existence of the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate in Ukraine, as well as any other way that provides for the existence of Orthodox church structures in our country that are separate from the OCU, is a canonical anomaly, a violation that must be corrected sooner or later,” said the Ukrainian Church.
In addition, the OCU recalled that all bishops of the Moscow Patriarchate in Ukraine in 2018 were invited to participate in the Unification Council. Unfortunately, only two accepted the call of the Ecumenical Patriarch. However, the Council has taken place, and now those willing can join in its decisions and benefit from its good fruits. If before 2018 there was no single autocephalous Local Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Ukraine recognized by the Universal Orthodoxy, but now it is in place, so it is impossible to “re-create” it, so “we must proceed from what is forever engraved in history.”
“The Ecumenical Patriarchate has the same position. Throughout this time, we have discussed these issues multiple times, and we have always heard the answer: the Unification Council took place, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine received a tomos of autocephaly, so all those who want to follow the canonical order should not seek an alternative but unite with it. The Ecumenical Patriarchate does not intend to and will not create any alternative jurisdiction in the canonical territory of the OCU,” the statement said.
“We hope that you will hear our appeals, not declaratively, but really separate from the non-canonical authority of the Russian Patriarch, follow the decision of the Ecumenical Patriarch, and unite with us in building the Local UOC. May God bless you with wisdom and inspire you to make the right decisions!” the statement concludes.
