Vinnitsa, June 30, 2022
Archpriest Vladimir Tiutenko, Vinnistsa. Photo: Pravlife.org
Archpriest Vladimir Tiutenko from the Vinnitsa diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) said that the Church is ready to dialogue with the schismatic “Orthodox Church of Ukraine” (OCU), but the schismatics should repent and stop seizing the churches of the UOC, reports the Union of Orthodox Journalists.
The rector of the Church of St. Luke of the Crimea in Vinnitsa, western Ukraine, Archpriest Vladimir Tiutenko, said that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church wants to live in peace with everyone and is ready to conduct a dialogue with the OCU, but certain conditions are needed for this. The priest of the UOC talked about this on the YouTube channel of the Vinnitsa diocese.
These days, schismatics are taking away churches, illegally transferring parishes to the OCU, and geographical communities are deciding what to do with religious communities, Fr. Vladimir noted. Schismatics need to start with what is elementary: They need to stop seizing churches. And it is very important that they solve the problem of canonicity.
“The OCU must admit that when it was created—and the OCU was created based on the ‘Kiev Patriarchate’—they made a mistake, they sinned,” stressed Fr. Vladimir. The mistake must be corrected. They need to repent of the sin of schism and resume the priestly, i.e. apostolic, succession in the ordination of priests. Then, he said, it would be possible to begin dialogue for the sake of the people’s unity, by showing an example of repentance and recognition of their mistakes.
“As we recall, in His conversation with the Samaritan woman the Lord said that the time is coming when they will worship God in Spirit and Truth. Thus, our association can likewise only be based on that Truth and in that Spirit, based on canon law, which was formulated by the holy apostles and holy fathers,” Archpriest Vladimir Tiutenko stressed.
On May 27, 2022, the UOC Council named the conditions for dialogue with the OCU, which included the schismatic “church’s” repentance.
And earlier this week, it was reported that the head of the Ukrainian State Services of Ethnopolitics expressed her conviction that only the faithful can decide which jurisdiction they belong to.
Elena Bogdan, speaking at a meeting about the transfer of the church community from the UOC to the OCU in Belogorodka, reminded the villagers of the right to freedom of religion.
Only the faithful who attend services, maintain the church and participate in its life have the right to vote on the transition of a religious community to another jurisdiction. Elena Bogdan made this statement in addressing the residents of Belogorodka, who organized the transition of the church community from the UOC to the OCU.
“A religious community consists of the people who attend services in this church, donate to this church, and do what makes this church alive. If there is no religious community, then the temple is empty. Accordingly, according to the current legislation, those people who are parishioners, or patrons, or otherwise participants in the religious life of this church should make the decision here today,” Bogdan noted and warned citizens about the consequences of illegal “transfer” of the church by people who have nothing to do with the church community.
“Imagine a situation where a decision is made for a religious community. This ultimately means that the church will either be empty, or closed, or we simply will not be able to continue religious life in it,” the head of the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience stressed.
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