R.P.Ts. ASSERTS UNITY BETWEEN RUSSIAN AND UKRAINIAN CHURCHES IS BEING MAINTAINED
The unity between the Russian and the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox churches (RPTs and UPTs) is being maintained and the RPTs continues to strengthen it and continues to pray for a united church, declared the head of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow patriarchate, Metropolitan of Volokolamsk Ilarion.
"By yesterday's decisions the Ukrainian Orthodox Church once again testified that it is entirely autonomous, that its ecclesiastical center is located not in Moscow but in Kiev, and it does not depend upon Moscow either administratively or financially or in any other ways. The unity between the Russian and Ukrainian church is being preserved and we will also continue to strengthen this unity in the future and we will continue to pray for our united holy Orthodox church in the future," he said on Saturday in a video report on Instagram*.
Metropolitan Ilarion noted that the UPTs does not depend on Moscow either administratively or financially, nor does it consist in any other kind of relationships.
He reported that the council of the UPTs confirmed that status that the canonical Ukrainian church has had since 1990, when it received a tomos (ecclesiastical document) about its autonomy from Patriarch of Moscow and all-Rus Alexis II.
"Today many efforts are being made to destroy this church. Schismatics are trying to seize property from them and Ukrainian authorities have organized persecution of this church. In a whole series of oblasts the UPTs is banned. Its churches are locked, raids are carried out, and attempts are made to deprive the UPTs of its legal name and to rename it as a Russian church in Ukraine," he emphasized.
The Council of the UPTs [of the Moscow Patriarchate—tr. note] declared its autonomy and independence on 27 May. According to the charter of the UPTs, published on the website of the Russian church, it was "granted independence and autonomy in its administration in accordance with a decision of the Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church of 25-27 October 1990"
The Council [of the Ukrainian church, yesterday—tr. note] also "had a discussion about resumption of the making of myrrh (holy oil used in the sacrament of anointing, which is made independently by autocephalous churches), but nothing was reported about the results of the discussion.
*The activity of Meta (the social networks of
Facebook and
Instagram) is forbidden in Russia because it is extremist. (tr.
by PDS, posted
28 May 2022)
INDEPENDENCE OF UKRAINIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH DOES NOT APPLY TO ALL DIOCESES OF THE COUNTRY
Interfax-Religiia, 28 May 2022
The complete independence and autonomy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which was declared Friday evening at a Council of the UPTs, it turns out, will not affect all regions of the country.
"By the decision of the Council of the UPTs, changes in the charter will not apply to a number of dioceses, among which is also the Donetsk diocese. That is, the church life in the Donetsk diocese will not be subject to any kind of changes," the Donetsk diocesan press service reports.
On 27 May, the Bishops' Council of the UPTs expressed its disagreement with the position of Patriarch Kirill with regard to the special military operation of the R.F. in Ukraine and announced that from now on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church will be completely independent, for which a number of amendments were introduced into the church charter.
In its turn, a spokesman for the Moscow patriarchate, Vladimir Legoida, acknowledged that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church "finds itself in a very difficult position and is experiencing pressure from various directions," and he also expressed the hope for maintaining unity with the UPTs. (tr. by PDS, posted 28 May 2022)
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