OFFICIAL REPRESENTATIVE OF UPTsMP RIDICULES PATRIARCH BARTHOLOMEW'S LETTER ABOUT UKRAINIAN AUTOCEPHALY
The church of the Moscow patriarchate in Ukraine (UPTsMP) does not consider as "extraordinary" the declaration of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew regarding his intention to grant autocephaly to the church of the Kiev patriarchate that is not recognized in the RPTsMP. This was reported on 27 July by the vice-chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the UPTsMP, Archpriest Nikolai Danilevich.
"Having listened to the text of the letter, I am able to say that there is not anything unusual or extraordinary or such as we have not heard previously in what Patriarch Bartholomew said there. . . . The ecumenical patriarchate hopes for restoration of canonical unity of the Orthodox in Ukraine. We are praying that the blessed people will again achieve a single and united church leadership, the restoration of canonicity, and the healing of schisms. So that is all the same as what we are saying," the report, which was published on his Facebook page, says.
In the opinion of the official of the UPTsMP, "if one looks at the official portion of the meeting, the words and response of the president, then one gets the impression that they agreed to agree, in order to save face."
Earlier the website of the Ukrainian president published excerpts from the letter of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew which speaks about "the initiative to restore the unity of Orthodox believers of Ukraine with a final goal of granting autocephaly to the Ukrainian Church." (tr. by PDS, posted 30 July 2018)
"UKRAINIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH DOES NOT NEED AUTOCEPHALY"—STATEMENT BY BISHOPS OF UPTs
Interfax-Religiia, 28 July 2018
Bishops of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UPTs) declared that it does not need autocephaly, which the government is trying to get from the Constantinople patriarch.
"Today our church faces many challenges. During the past months, in the information sphere of our country, disputes about the possibility of granting a tomos concerning autocephaly have not abated. We confirm that the existing canonical status of our church at the present time is fully adequate so that it can fruitfully perform its mission among its people," the statement of the UPTs hierarchs says, which was distributed on Saturday, the Day of the Baptism of Rus.
They say that attempts to change this status will lead only to restriction of the rights and liberties that the Ukrainian church possesses, which has the right of broad autonomy.
"These attempts will not heal but will only deepen the schism both in Ukrainian Orthodoxy and in Ukrainian society. This also pertains to the possible creation of a parallel church jurisdiction in Ukraine," the hierarchs warn.
They are concerned that external forces are trying to turn the church into "a composite of geopolitics, ideology, and state security, which is being spoken about openly in the public space." "Such statements and such attempts evoke concern in us because this contradicts the calling of the church," the appeal emphasizes.
The bishops of the UPTs are sure that the church "should not be an instrument in the hands of any state or political ideology, wherever it may come from."
The bishops also regret that leaders of the church schism are now using the government "in order to justify and legalize their sin against the church." (tr. by PDS, posted 30 July 2018)
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