In the context of the complicated situation of Ukrainian Orthodoxy, which worsened in 2024, a new initiative appeared, the Sofia Brotherhood. It is a unique platform for communication between the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), and Ecumenical Patriarchate. Archpriest of the UOC, member of the board of the Sofia Brotherhood Ihor Kovrovskyi told the Religion in Ukraine outlet of the prospects for the reconciliation of Ukrainian churches.
“If we talk about the structural unity of Ukrainian Orthodoxy, that is, the merging of all branches into a single church body, this should become the ultimate and formalized goal – and not only for the Sofia Brotherhood but for the entire Orthodox community in general. A long and rather difficult path leads to it,” Father Ihor noted.
According to him, unity begins with the fact that believers see each other as brothers in Christ: “There are no ‘OCU guys’ or ‘UOC guys’, there are Christians for whom the unity of Ukrainian Orthodoxy is the objective of joint work.”
Kovrovsky outlined the possible stages of achieving the unity of Ukrainian Orthodoxy:
- 1. Restoration of Eucharistic communication between the UOC and the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
- Inter-church negotiations with the participation of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
- Mutual recognition of the Sacraments of both jurisdictions.
- Search for models of coexistence of different canonical jurisdictions on one canonical territory.
“I guess we should remain optimistic realists. Apparently, we will not be invited to draw up a roadmap for developing a strategy for achieving the unity of Ukrainian Orthodoxy. However, during our inter-church meetings in St. Sophia, we discussed such prospects and assessed how realistic they are. And taking into account the fact that the recognition of the Sofia Brotherhood as a kind of platform for interjurisdictional dialogue is expanding in church circles, we hope that the developments our community is working on will be useful for the course of possible negotiations. An example of such recognition can be the meeting of members of the Brotherhood with the delegation of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. This became possible, first of all, thanks to the positive assessment of our efforts by representatives of the patriarch. At that meeting, the question of the possibility of a visit by Sofia Brotherhood members to the Phanar was also raised.
Probably, the first significant step towards achieving unity should be the restoration of the UOC’s Eucharistic communication with the Ecumenical Patriarchate. I would like to remind you that the severance of relations, or rather the “suspension of Eucharistic communication” was not due to doctrinal issues, but “due to the intervention of the Patriarchate of Constantinople in the domestoc affairs of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church”, as noted in the decision of the Synod. A sort of a good face in a bad game… At that time, no one even dared to say that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church was not part of the Moscow Patriarchate, so a decision about “destructive activity and a gross violation of canonical rules” could only be made on the motion from Moscow. At the very least, it would be worthwhile to start off with revoking the decision to prohibit believers from participating in the Sacraments performed in the churches of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. Speculation on the Eucharist is not appropriate whatsoever,” said the father.
Next, inter-church negotiations with the participation of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, setting up groups for dialogue, agreeing on controversial issues within the framework of that dialogue. And the first result of this process could be the mutual recognition of the Sacraments of both jurisdictions, which would allow believers to relieve tension in local relations. That is, there will be no more division into canonical and ‘non-canonical’, into dissidents and Moscowphiles, or other categories of irreconcilables.
“In the matter of exploring coexistence models, each jurisdiction must go for compromises as to their ideals of the canonical structure of the Church,” the archpriest emphasized.
Regarding the role of the church leadership in solving the problem of unity, Kovrovsky noted: “The manager is always responsible. Both for their action and for inaction. And if the Church (both as a structure and as a community) is destroyed, history will not ask the leader how many times a day he did a prayer service or knelt before the icons in his cell.”
He also pointed to the importance of the pro-active position of the faithful and clergy: “I think that the Sofia Brotherhood accumulates in its ranks precisely such non-systemic people – those who have their own opinion, even if it doesn’t fit into mainstream; those who unite for the sake of a common goal – comprehensive promotion of inter-Orthodox dialogue to achieve unity.”
Thus, the Sofia Brotherhood serves as an important tool in the process of achieving the unity of Ukrainian Orthodoxy, offering a platform for dialogue and cooperation between different church jurisdictions in Ukraine.
