RUSSIA RELIGION NEWS


 Ukrainian government tries to salvage independence of church

PRESIDENTIAL ADVISOR DENIES RUMORS ABOUT UPCOMING LACK OF INDEPENDENCE OF UKRAINIAN CHURCH AND ITS DEPENDENCE ON CONSTANTINOPLE

Religiia v Ukraine, 6 December 2018

 

In connection with rumors that are circulating, especially in the UPTsMP, about the attempt of Constantinople to make the local Orthodox Church in Ukraine dependent upon itself, Rostislav Pavlenko, an advisor to the Ukrainian president and director of the National Institute of Strategic Studies, urges the promoters and recipients of such information "to maintain informational hygiene," Religiia v Ukraine reports.

 

On 6 December, on his page in Facebook, he recalled the chief thing that is in the tomos concerning the autocephaly of the Ukrainian church adopted by Constantinople:

 

"1. The church is an independent subject and not a part of another subject (another church), like the UPTsMP is a part of the Russian Orthodox Church.

 

"2. The church itself select its primate, and he does not have to receive the 'blessing' from another church, as in the case in the UPTsMP.

 

"3. The church has its own place in the diptychs (order of commemoration).

 

"4. The church is independent in its internal life. Recognition of the right of appeal to the ecumenical patriarch is not a restriction. It is one of the privileges of the ecumenical patriarch as primary in honor. This is recognized by everybody except the RPTs (but in the final analysis, the RPTs has recognized the unique circumstances with the active . . . engagement of the Moscow secular authorities, and therefore their position here is not at all to the point).

 

"Myrrh is a tribute to traditions and not dependence . . .

 

"The charter of the autocephalous Ukrainian Orthodox Church will be discussed and adopted by Ukrainian bishops, implementing the provisions of the tomos and not the fantasies of "experts" of a type of 'cock and bull story.'"

 

Earlier he explained that this is the path followed by the Orthodox churches of Romania, Poland, Albania, and the Czech Lands and Slovakia, who received a tomos from Constantinople and began their independent path with the status of an autocephalous metropolitanate. (tr. by PDS, posted 6 December 2018)

UKRAINIAN CHURCH WILL BE COMPLETELY INDEPENDENT—PAVLENKO

RISU, 6 December 2018

 

The Ukrainian autocephalous church will be completely independent and equal among other canonically recognized Orthodox churches, and its charter will be adopted by Ukrainian bishops at the unification council.

 

This was described by an advisor to the Ukrainian president, Rostislav Pavlenko, in a brief interview on the talk-show "On Air" on the TV channel Priamoi.

 

"Ukraine will be given a tomos concerning autocephaly, that is, full independence.  The Ukrainian church will be entered into the diptyk, that is, the list of independent churches. It will become one of fifteen--there then will be fifteen--ecumenically recognized independent churches. And this is a fundamental difference. Therefore it is now not necessary to believe the reports in the news media which are intended to sow uncertainty, division, panic, and the like," he declared.

 

Pavlenko said that the charter of the new church will be confirmed by Ukrainian bishops.

 

"The main thing that should be remembered: we are talking about the creation of an independent church. What the charter of this church is to be will be decided by Ukrainian bishops, which will be ready for the council. It would be logical to suggest that there will be discussion, and there is time for this before 15 December, so that the representatives of various churches will gather, and positions on the charter will be discussed, which there are, and those suggestions that the Synod of the ecumenical patriarchate will send, suggestions so that the tomos on autocephaly can be built, so to speak, on the charter of the independent church. And together they will be prepared for the council and the council will confirm the charter of, and I again stress, an independent Ukrainian Orthodox Church," Rostislav Pavlenko noted. (tr. by PDS, posted 6 December 2018)


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