His Eminence Metropolitan Vissarion of Ovruch and Korosten of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church was hospitalized and underwent heart surgery on Sunday, July 20.
The statement suggests a growing rift between Georgia’s religious establishment and European institutions, potentially complicating the country’s long-standing goal of joining European structures while maintaining its cultural and religious identity.
The relevant legislation, signed on May 2, is being contested by four major Orthodox Christian jurisdictions: the Orthodox Church in America, the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America, the Romanian Orthodox Metropolia of the Americas, and the Western American Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia.
The episcopal ordination and enthronement of Bishop-elect Vasily is scheduled to take place on Saturday, August 16, 2025, at Holy Trinity Cathedral in San Francisco, CA.
The Metropolitan noted that he has served in Rome and can say that the whole subject of Greek Catholicism in Ukraine is a “complicated matter,” and it is better not to discuss it publicly.