Kiev, October 25, 2018
Photo: hramzp.ua The hierarchs and clergy of a number of dioceses of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church have explicitly expressed their support for the position of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church and their archpastor His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kiev and All Ukraine.
A meeting of the hierarchs and secretaries of the Dnipropetrovsk, Krivoy Rog, and Kamenka Dioceses with representatives of the main department of the national police in the Dnipropetrovsk Region and the Dnipropetrovsk regional department of the Ukrainian Security Services was held on Tuesday at the Dnipropetrosvk Diocesan administration, according to the diocese’s Facebook page.
At the meeting, His Eminence Metropolitan Irinei of Dnipropetrovsk and Pavlograd, His Eminence Metroplitan Ephrem of Krivoy Rog and Nikolsk, His Eminence Archbishop Vladimir of Kamenka and Tsarichanka, and His Eminence Archbishop Evlogy of Novomoskovsk all unanimously testified to their faithfulness to the canonical Ukrainian Church headed by its primate Met. Onuphry.
Met. Irinei addressed the audience, noting that the Ukrainian Church has been completely independent in its administration since 1992 and remains the only canonical Church in Ukraine. Constantinople’s rehabilitation and acceptance of schismatics, he added, violates the canons of the holy Orthodox Church.
The Church prays for peace and unity every day, but this can only be based on the holy canons, Met. Irinei explained.
“As soon as the schismatics repent, they will be immediately received into the bosom of the Mother-Church. There is no other way to unite and there will not be,” the Ukrainian hierarch said.
He also noted that not a single priest of his diocese has expressed the desire to move into the schismatics’ church.
The law enforcement representatives also promised to do what they could to prevent further attacks against the canonical Church and its faithful.
Meanwhile, a number of priests of the Zaporozhye Diocese appealed to their hierarch, His Eminence Metropolitan Luke of Zaporozhy and Melitopol to hold discussions on the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s recent actions in Ukraine. Met. Luke gave his blessing, and within two days, meetings were held in every deanery of the diocese.
The clergy of the diocese fully supported and added their signatures to Met. Luke’s statement of support for Met. Onuphry and the canonical Church, reports the diocesan website.
The statement reads: “We, the faithful children of our Mother, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, headed by You, testify that we do not recognize the decision made by the Synod of the Church of Constantinople on 11/10/18, and we express to You, Your Beatitude, our support and filial obedience, and together with You, ‘we will remain with the persecuted Church, but standing in the faithful position, in the position of the truth of the Church…”
And, as OrthoChristian reported yesterday, a clergy meeting of the Odessa Diocese was recently held at which the participants were asked to answer in a secret ballot if they support the preservation of the present status of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church as an autonomous Church and the position of its primate, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kiev and All Ukraine.
406 clergy answered “yes,” 3 answered “no,” and 4 abstained, submitting blank ballots. Thus, 98.3% of the clergy of the Odessa Diocese support their canonical position as an autonomous Church.
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