METROPOLITAN ANTONY: QUESTION OF CHURCH SCHISMS IN UKRAINE IS NOT INCLUDED IN THE AGENDA OF PAN-ORTHODOX SOBOR
Press Service of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, 13 August 2015
The start of 2015 was marked by an attempt at unification of UAPTs and UPTsKP into a united church. Despite the fact that representatives of the Constantinople patriarchate took a rather active part in this process, for certain reasons the situation came to a dead end. Concerning specifics of interconfessional relations in Ukraine and the role in these processes played by representatives of other local churches of the world and the Pan-Orthodox Sobor of 2016, UPTs Chancellor Metropolitan of Borispol and Brovary Antony gave an explanation in an exclusive interview for the portal Pro Tserkvu.
--[Pro Tserkvu] Vladyka! Recently in Ukrainian society much has been said about the necessity of a dialogue between the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and the so-called Kiev patriarchate. Is that dialogue being conducted now?
--[Metropolitan Antony] In February 2014 the Holy Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church [UPTs] created a commission which was instructed, inter alia, to conduct a dialogue with the UPTsKP. At that time, preliminary consultations were conducted with representatives of the Kiev patriarchate and possible prospects for conducting a dialogue were outlined. However, unfortunately, attempts to seize parishes of our church in favor of the Kiev patriarchate soon began. This substantially worsened our relations with representatives of UPTsKP. Therefore the dialogue was not begun. But this does not mean that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is opposed to dialogue. Recently the primate of our church, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufrey, in his interview emphasized that we are open to dialogue. But this must be an honest and open dialogue, which excludes force and the language of ultimatums.
--Recently there was an attempt at unification of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church [UAPTs] and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kiev patriarchate [UPTsKP]. How does the Ukrainian Orthodox Church regard this process?
--Negotiations about a possible unification of the UAPTs and the UPTsKP are their internal affair. We are not interfering in this process in any way.
--In your opinion, why did this unification not occur? After all, UAPTs and UPTsKP are rather similar confessions in their rhetoric and political views.
--I think that on this question, the leaders of UPTsKP and UAPTs should give a frank answer. I can only say that despite a certain closeness of ideology of these two groupings, old contradictions exist between them. Actually back in 1992, when with the support of the government the "Kiev patriarchate" was created, a substantial part of the clergy and laity of UAPTs did not recognize the legality of this act and refused to join the UPTsKP. The then head of UAPTs, Mstislav (Skripnik), declared that he considered the creation of the Kiev patriarchate illegal. Among the current members of the UAPTs there are many who regard the activity of former Metropolitan of Kiev Filaret (Denisenko) negatively. And so, relations between the UPTsKP and the UAPTs are extremely difficult. It is no surprise that all their attempts to unite have still been unsuccessful.
--At the state celebrations on the occasion of the 1000th anniversary of the death of Holy Prince Vladimir in Kiev, bishops from the Ukrainian Orthodox churches in America and Canada, which are in the jurisdiction of the Constantinople patriarchate, were present. How would you comment on their visit to Ukraine?
--As far as we know from the news media, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko sent to Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew an invitation to participate in the celebrations of the 1000th anniversary of the death of Holy Prince Vladimir. In response to this invitation, Patriarch Bartholomew sent to Kiev a delegation of representatives of the Ukrainian Orthodox churches in American and Canada. And so, metropolitans Antony and Yurij attended the celebrations as official representatives of the Constantinople patriarchate and not as private persons. According to church canons, an official visit by bishops of one local church to the territory of another local church may occur only with the consent of the legal church hierarchy that exists on that territory to which it is proposed to make a visit. Moreover, even within the boundaries of one local church, an official visit by a bishop to the territory of another diocese must be coordinated with the ruling bishop of that diocese that he wishes to visit. The visit to Ukraine by metropolitans Antony and Yurij was not coordinated with the leadership of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in any way. Unfortunately, this was not the first case when bishops of the Constantinople patriarchate made visits to Ukraine on instruction by Patriarch Bartholomew when the Ukrainian Orthodox Church was not informed about those visits. Back on 24 July 2015, the Holy Synod of our church expressed discontent with respect to the activity of the hierarchs of the Constantinople patriarchate on the canonical territory of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. This discontent was brought to the attention of the leadership of the Constantinople patriarchate.
--While he was in Ukraine, the primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Canada, Metropolitan Yurij, gave a large press conference in the Ukrinform news agency. In particular, he rather transparently hinted that the Constantinople patriarchate, on the basis of the rights of the Mother Church, may open in Ukraine its own church structures or even create in Ukraine an autocephalous church on the base of the Kiev patriarchate. How does the Ukrainian Orthodox Church view such a scenario of the development of events?
--The Ukrainian Orthodox Church is the largest religious confession in Ukraine. In number of church parishes, our church is one of the most numerous in the world. Therefore we consider that our church certainly must be included in all possible negotiations about overcoming church divisions in Ukraine. Unfortunately, we see that the hierarchs of the Constantinople patriarchate recently, in visiting Ukraine and talking with representatives of the government and representatives of unrecognized church groupings, are actually ignoring the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. And these scenarios for further development of Orthodoxy in Ukraine, which in particular were voiced by Metropolitan Yurij at the press conference you cite, have been in no way discussed with the leaders of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Of course, our church would be thankful for any support on the part of other local churches in the difficult business of overcoming church schisms. Back in October 2008, while he was in Istanbul for a meeting of primates of local Orthodox churches, His Beatitude Metropolitan Vladimir delivered to all primates his letter in which he asked for support of the efforts of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church aimed at the restoration of church unity in Ukraine. At the same time, His Beatitude Metropolitan Vladimir noted in the same letter that he considers the resolution of the problem of schism by way of creation in Ukraine of several parallel Orthodox jurisdictions to be unacceptable. And today we again emphasize that it is impossible to overcome church schism while ignoring the only recognized Orthodox church existing in Ukraine. Experience shows that opening on one territory parallel structures of different local churches threatens both church and public peace. We hope that in the future both leaders of the Ukrainian state and representatives of the other local churches will take into account the position of the hierarchs, clergy, and believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
--In March of this year, a representative of the Constantinople patriarchate, Metropolitan of Sasima Gennady, came to Ukraine. He spoke rather categorically with respect to UPTsKP, saying that "we call them schismatics in order not to give the impression that we recognize them. They may call themselves what they wish, but not one church recognizes them." How should Orthodox Ukrainians understand the position of Constantinople, if different hierarchs of that church express essentially different views on the church situation in Ukraine?
--I think that there is nothing surprising in this. This is only evidence that among bishops of the Constantinople patriarchate there are different views on the church situation in Ukraine. However, I would like to stress that personally Patriarch Bartholomew has frequently declared that he recognizes in Ukraine only the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Also, while visiting Ukraine, he fellowshipped with and served the liturgy only with the primate and hierarchs of our church.
--In conclusion I would like to ask you will Ukraine be the subject of any decisions of the Pan-Orthodox Sobor that is scheduled for 2016? Will the question of Ukrainian schisms be considered at the sobor at all?
--The list of subjects for consideration at the Pan-Orthodox Sobor was developed back in the late 1960s, when the current church schisms in Ukraine still did not exist. At that time it was decided that at the Pan-Orthodox Sobor only questions of a church-wide scale should be considered. Therefore, internal questions of the life of separate local churches were not included in this list. And so the question of church schisms in Ukraine is not included in the agenda of the Pan-Orthodox Sobor. However, among the topics that are planned for consideration at the sobor there is the question of the procedure for granting ecclesiastical autocephaly and autonomy. At present among local churches there is no unity on this question. But according to the rules for the preparation of the Pan-Orthodox Sobor, only those documents that have already received the unanimous support of all local churches may be introduced for its consideration. Therefore today it remains unclear whether the questions of autocephaly and autonomy will be introduced for the sobor's consideration. (tr. by PDS, posted 14 August 2015)
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