HEADS OF LOCAL CHURCHES SPEAK OUT AGAINST IDEA OF AUTOCEPHALY FOR UKRAINE
The heads and representatives of local Orthodox churches do not support the idea of Ukrainian authorities about the creation of a "united autocephalous church" in the country, the chancellor of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UPTsMP), Metropolitan of Borispol and Brovary Antony, declared on the basis of results of initial conversations.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, on 22 April, declared that the Constantinople patriarchate is beginning procedures necessary for the creation of a united local autocephalous church in the country. In response to the appeal of secular authorities, the synod of the Constantinople patriarchate declared that it "has decided on the basis of this inquiry to be in close communication with other sister Orthodox churches for informing and coordinating with them."
"Primates and bishops (of local churches—ed. note) are following events in our country with concern and they have even asked our church to express its vision. Therefore His Beatitude Metropolitan (of Kiev and all-Ukraine—ed. note) Onufrey has informed primates of local Orthodox churches about the position of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church relative to the aforesaid initiatives and their possible consequences. Proceeding from continual communication which we have with local churches, and also from their first reaction, which was already known to us, the idea of granting a tomos concerning autocephaly to schismatics, circumventing the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church, does not evoke any kind of approval," Metropolitan Antony declared in an interview which was published on the UPTsMP website.
"Primates and representatives of churches, bishops, metropolitans, and hierarchs from Orthodox countries, with whom we, at the canonical church, have full-fledged—both official and personal—communication regard all of this with amazement, concern, and sometimes even with indignation, and they express their disagreement," the UPTs chancellor added.
Metropolitan Antony said that in conversations with representatives of the UPTsMP, hierarchs of local churches, including Greek bishops and those who adhere to the jurisdiction of the Constantinople patriarchate, "express words of support and they ask us to convey that there is no reason for worry, since the local churches do not approve these initiatives, which may lead to great problems in world Orthodoxy."
Responding to a question whether the topic of autocephaly has crossed the border of Ukraine, the metropolitan noted that this decision depends on the position of all local churches. He also expressed faith that the position of the Constantinople patriarchate will be directed to the support of the canonical church. At the same time, the representative of the UPTsMP reported that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is feeling "informal pressure upon our church from certain political forces" and that the aforementioned initiatives concerning autocephaly are being advanced by Ukrainian authorities in the international arena also.
The Russian foreign ministry commented on the idea of the autocephaly of the church in Ukraine: "We know that the Ukrainian foreign ministry has authorized ambassadors in Orthodox countries to conduct meetings with primates of the churches in order to persuade them to support the government's initiatives. In particular, recently Minister of Foreign Affairs Pavel Klimkin, during his visit to Egypt, met with Patriarch of Alexandria Feodor. . . . They want to persuade us that the question supposedly has been decided and it is simply necessary to reconcile one's self to this lie. But I wish to declare responsibly that the local churches will be governed in this matter by criteria of benefits for ecumenical Orthodoxy and by church canons and not by the political interests of the government," the UPTs hierarch assured. . . . (tr. by PDS, posted 8 May 2018)
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