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Moscow church in Ukraine besieged  

METROPOLITAN ONUFREY: OUR CHURCH AWAITS REPENTANT SCHISMATICS

Religiia v Ukraine, 6 August 2015

 

The Union of Orthodox Journalists, which was created by Metropolitan Onufrey's PR-entourage, prepared for the Internet publication News24.ua another interview with the head of the UPTs. The principal leitmotif of the interview was the infringement of the rights of UPTs believers in Ukraine and the possibility of church unity only through the repentance of the Kiev patriarchate and the UAPTs, a correspondent of the portal Religiia v Ukraine reports.

 

Comparing the persecution of the church by the soviet regime with today's Ukrainian reality, Metropolitan Onufrey said: "Of course, the situation now is different. Priests are not being killed, they are not being sent to psychiatric hospitals, and churches are not being destroyed. However this does not signify that we have everything very good and there are not any problems. There are. For example, in the past years about 30 churches have been taken away from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. In some places priests of our church are being pressed by representatives of local authorities. All of this, of course, is accompanied by gross violations of the legislation and constitution of Ukraine. It would seem that the authorities should react to this in an appropriate way, but, unfortunately, we do not see such a reaction."

 

He is disturbed by the initiative of deputies from Volyn who suggested renaming the UPTsMP the "Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine." "All these incidents," the head of UPTs noted, "are evidence that the situation in the religious field of Ukraine is extremely tense and to facilitate this tension is a crime. On the contrary, it is necessary to seek ways for reconciliation of society and not initiating its division."

 

Continuing to speak about reconciliation and unity, Metropolitan Onufrey declared that both the Kiev patriarchate and the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church "may return back to the UPTsMP only by a canonical path," by which he understands exclusively by way of repentance.  "Another path for return back other than repentance and humility simply does not exist," he emphasized. At the same time, Metropolitan Onufrey did not explain why, in such a case, it was necessary to create in haste a whole commission for dialogue with the UAPTs, if what is demanded of the latter is unilateral repentance. "Again I repeat, our church is open for dialogue and communication. And we are prepared to receive those who through repentance wish to return to fellowship with canonical Orthodoxy," the hierarch stressed his position.

 

Commenting on the unsuccessful negotiations between UPTsKP and UAPTs for unification, Metropolitan Onufrey said that they were not able "to conquer their pride."

 

The UPTs head also noted that sociological surveys, according to which the UPTs is losing its positions in Ukrainian society, for him "are very insignificant." In Metropolitan Onufrey's opinion, "a survey should be conducted not on the streets but in the churches. Then, perhaps, it will be possible to see an approximate picture of what is going on in reality." (tr. by PDS, posted 6 August 2015)


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