RUSSIA RELIGION NEWS


 

Two Ukrainian Orthodox churches agree to hold unity council

UPTsKP AND UAPTs COMMISSIONS DEFINE STEPS TOWARD UNIFICATION OF THE TWO CHURCHES IN FINAL DOCUMENT

RISU, 9 June 2015

 

On 8 June 2015 in the St. Michael's Golden-Domed monastery, in the hall for sessions of the Academic Council of the Kiev Orthodox Theological Academy, a joint session of the commissions of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kiev patriarchate (UPTsKP) and the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAPTs) was held.

 

The session was attended by hierarchs of the patriarchate of Constantinople in the capacity of observers, Bishop Ilarion of the UPTs in Canada and Bishop Daniil of the UPTs in the USA. According to a report on the official website of the Kiev patriarchate, they were authorized by the Ecumenical Patriarchate to take part in the meeting of the commissions, which gives evidence of the attention and support of the Mother-Church of Constantinople for the unification processes in Ukrainian Orthodoxy.

 

On the basis of the results of the work, a joint document was adopted, the text of which follows:

 

CONCLUDING DECISION of the joint session of commissions for conducting dialogue of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church with the UPTs Kiev patriarchate and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kiev patriarchate with the UAPTs;

 

St. Michael's Golden-Domed monastery in the city of Kiev

08 June 2015

 

Having assembled for a joint session in the presence of observers from the Ecumenical Patriarchate His Eminence Ilarion, bishop of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Canada, and His Eminence Daniil, bishop of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the USA, the commission of the UAPTs for conducting dialogue with UPtsKP and the commission of UPTsKP for conducting dialogue with UAPTs have together decided the following.

 

1. To express thanks to His Holiness Bartholomew, Archbishop of Constantinople—New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch, and to the Constantinople Mother-Church, as well as the Ukrainian Orthodox churches in the diaspora for sending observers of the business of dialogue.

 

2. To place on record that the UAPTs, in accordance with decisions of the 5th local sobor (4-5 June 2015), and the UPTsKP, in accordance with decisions of the Holy Synod (12 May 2015), intend and desire in the near future to unite into a single local Orthodox Ukrainian church.

 

3.  To recognize that, in accordance with the canonical norms, the charters of both churches, and the legislation of Ukraine, the fulfillment of the desire to unite is possible only at a joint Unification Sobor.

 

4. To suggest to the primate of the UAPTs and its Bishops' Council and the primate of UPTsKP and its Holy Synod to adopt without delay, before 30 June 2015, a decision regarding the calling of a Unification Sobor for the final unification of UAPTs and UPTsKP into a single local church.

 

5. The composition of the delegates of the Unification Sobor is to be determined on equal bases: all bishops of UAPTs and UPTsKP and one delegate for every fifteen registered religious organizations (the basic number of religious organizations is to be determined on the basis of official data concerning registration of the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine as of 1 January 2015). The distribution of representation within the bounds of UAPTs and UPTsKP depends on decisions of their statutory bodies.

 

6.  After adoption of the decision regarding the calling of a Sobor (in accordance with point 4 of this Concluding Decision), the commissions for conducting dialogue between UAPTs and UPTsKP will be turned into a joint Pre-Sobor Commission, which will carry out the planning for the Sobor. An equal number of bishops and representatives from the clergy and laity of UAPTs and UPTsKP will be members in parity of the Pre-Sobor Commission, but not more than seven from each side. The heads of the respective commissions for dialogue will become co-chairmen of the Pre-Sobor Commission. Observers from the Ecumenical Patriarchate will be invited to attend the work of the commission.

 

7. It is suggested that the time for convening the Unification Sobor be 14 September 2015, the day of the church new year. It is suggested that the place for conducting the Unification Sobor be the Holy Wisdom cathedral in Kiev.

 

8. After the adoption of the decision regarding the convening of the Sobor (in accordance with point 4 of this Concluding Decision), in the time before the Sobor, moratoria on the transfer of parishes and bishops from one jurisdiction to the other will be established.

 

9. To determine, in accordance with the provisions of the Simfonitikon adopted in the Ecumenical Patriarchate in 2000, that liturgical concelebration and Eucharistic unity of primates, hierarchs, and clergy of UAPTs and UPTsKP will proceed without hindrance by their mutual consent.

 

10. From the moment of the opening of the work of the Unification Sobor and until the moment of the adoption by the Unification Sobor of a decision concerning the unification of UAPTs and UPTsKP into a single church and the primacy of the unified church, the primates of UAPTs and UPTsKP will be the co-chairmen of the Unification Sobor.

 

11. All suggestions and conditions of unification, confirmed by the sobor of UAPTs (4-5 June 2015) and the Holy Synod of UPTsKP (12 May 2015), including the questions of the primate and the name of the unified church will be presented to the Unification Sobor, bearing in mind the position of the sobor of UAPTs regarding the name for the unified church, "Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate." The Unification Sobor will adopt the decisions on all questions by a majority of votes.

 

This Concluding Decision consists of three identical copies, each on three pages, certified by the heads of the commissions, signed by all members of the two commissions attending the session, and also certified by observers from the Ecumenical Patriarch. In order to inform the entirety of both churches, the Concluding Decision will be published in news media.

 

Commission of the UAPTs

 

Andrei, metropolitan of Galicia

Mstislav, archbishop of Ternopol

Archpriest Nikolai Kachak (Lvov diocese)

Archpriest Evgeny Shuvar (Ivano-Frankovsk diocese)

Archpriest Georgy Kushniriuk (Kiev diocese)

 

Commission of UPTsKP

 

Dimitry, metropolitan of Lvov

Evstraty, archbishop of Chernigov

Archpriest Alexander Trofimliuk (city of Kiev)

Archpriest Aleksei Golovatsky (Ternopol diocese)

Archpriest Mikhail Lesiuk (Pereiaslav-Khmelnitskii diocese)

(tr. by PDS, posted 11 June 2015)


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