Statement of the episcopate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church on dialogue with the UAPC and the UOC/KP

STATEMENT
OF THE EPISCOPATE OF THE UKRAINIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH
ON DIALOGUE WITH THE UAPC AND THE UOC/KP

Due to another burst in the activity of the schismatics, who describe their formations as authocephalous churches, seeking recognition of Universal Orthodoxy, we, bishops of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church at our meeting in the capital city of Kiev, would like to clarify once again our vision of the ways of solving this problem.

The episcopate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, invariably concerned for the salvation of their faithful, express their regret over the schism in Ukraine. We all seek unity. However, in overcoming the schism, it is necessary first of all to take into account the fact that in Ukraine there is a one canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church recognized by Universal Orthodoxy. She unites the overwhelming majority of the believers in Ukraine and is dominant in 22 out of 25 regions in the country. Moreover, all the 35 dioceses of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (and these include over 9000 parishes) live in unity and harmony under the omophorion of the Metropolitan of Kiev. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church is a major factor of stability in Ukraine and a guarantor of its internal unity. In the years of the Ukrainian independence, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church has proved to all that she is a law-abiding and truly Christian Church. She has never interfered in the internal political and public life of the country, nor has she supported any political structures or campaigned during elections, but always called to peace and accord for the sake of the young democratic state.

Separated from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, the gatherings of believers who call themselves churches do not actually belong either to the Church or Universal Orthodoxy because of their uncanonicity. An external manifestation of their falling away from the church unity is their lack of devotional and liturgical (Eucharistic) communion with Universal Orthodoxy.

The leaders of the schismatics, in their wish to conceal from the people of God the real reasons of their isolation from Universal Orthodoxy and the truth about consequences that the schism has for the salvation of the faithful, are trying to explain the refusal of Orthodox Churches to recognize them by Moscow’s intrigues. This links the theological aspect of the problem with the political one and creates additional problems for achieving unity among the Orthodox.

Meanwhile, our position is built on ecclesiastical rather that political foundations. As was stated earlier, the gatherings of believers who have separated themselves from us cannot be our equal partners in theological dialogue. In this situation, the question that should be posed is not about uniting various trends in Ukrainian Orthodoxy but rather about the need for the spiritual children who formerly separated themselves from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church to rejoin her. According to the canons, the solution of the problem of schismatic groups, though being outside the fold of the Church, is in the competence of the Church from which they separated themselves.

In 2000 and 2001, representatives of the UAOC and UOC/KP have taken some steps to come together in the task of canonical recognition of their structures to be followed by their merger and obtaining autocephaly or a special status within the Patriarchate of Constantinople. While doing justice to the peace efforts of representatives of the Patriarchates of Constantinople and Moscow, it should be taken into account that it was the Ukrainian Orthodox Church who initiated direct negotiations with various schismatic groups, and she made the first efforts to begin dialogue long before the Patriarchates of Moscow and Constantinople joined the negotiations.

A meeting for bilateral negotiations between representatives of the Patriarchates of Moscow and Constantinople, a prior arrangement on which was reached in April 2001 in Switzerland, became possible thanks to the consistent efforts of the leaders of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, whose theological arguments are based on the Holy Tradition and filled with pastoral love for the brethren who have separated themselves from the Holy Church. This meeting is a result of the statements made earlier by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and the actions she initiated for reuniting the Orthodox in Ukraine in the spirit of the holy canons as the unshakable foundation of church unity. In the course of the meeting (May 26-30, 2001) in Kiev, the sides exchanged their opinions on the ways of achieving unity among the Orthodox in Ukraine and expressed hope that the obstacles on the way to it would be overcome. It should be emphasized that the creation of new canonical structures in Ukraine, parallel to the existing ones, is fraught with destructive consequences for the religious and social life in the state. The previous Ukrainian government, lobbying for the schism, tried to repeat the “Estonian version” in Ukraine. However, we have to draw attention to the fact that the conflict in Estonia has led a prolonged confrontation, though involved in it were only dozens of communities which, in violation of the church canons, were taken by Constantinople in its fold. This has led to a sharp aggravation in not only inter-church but also inter-state relations.

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church is one of the largest Churches in the world Orthodoxy, and a destabilization of its internal order will lead inevitably to numerous conflicts and even to a confessional and inter-ethnic confrontation in Ukraine.

It is clear that the schism in Ukraine can be overcome only from within, as most of its proponents are those who have violated the church discipline. Therefore, we propose to include representatives of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the process of negotiations between the Patriarchates of Moscow and Constantinople, since the problem of relationships concerns her directly. We are ready to continue the process of negotiations with the schismatic groups.

It should be noted in particular that any negotiations with representatives of uncanonical gatherings in Ukraine will be really effective only if they are held without anathematized Denisenko who, as the recent visit of the Bishop of Rome to Ukraine has shown, proved to be not only the initiator and founder of the schism but also a heretic. Through the mass media, he gave his blessing to his followers to participate in non-Orthodox divine service. Such actions are forbidden by the canons of the Holy Orthodox Church (Apostolic Canons 45, 65, and Canon 33 of the Council of Laodicia). Thus, according to the logic of the leader of the UOC/KP, having once violated the canons, one can violate them whenever it is profitable.

In any case, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church sees a possibility for solving the problem of Orthodox division in Ukraine only on the canonical basis. We believe that the Local Churches of Constantinople and Russia have a vast field for cooperation in the Orthodox witness in the world. Therefore, with all respect for His Holiness Patriarch Bartholomaios of Constantinople, we have to state that any unilateral interference of the Church of Constantinople in the church life in Ukraine can only aggravate the situation, not resolve it.

09.07.2001
Kiev-Caves Laura of the Holy Dormition
Kiev

See also:

Official web-site of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church