{"id":181003,"date":"2019-12-06T22:24:49","date_gmt":"2019-12-06T19:24:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mospat.ru\/?p=181003"},"modified":"2019-12-09T12:59:10","modified_gmt":"2019-12-09T09:59:10","slug":"%d0%b7%d0%b0%d1%8f%d0%b2%d0%bb%d0%b5%d0%bd%d0%b8%d0%b5-%d1%81%d0%b2%d1%8f%d1%89%d0%b5%d0%bd%d0%bd%d0%be%d0%b3%d0%be-%d1%81%d0%b8%d0%bd%d0%be%d0%b4%d0%b0-%d1%83%d0%ba%d1%80%d0%b0%d0%b8%d0%bd%d1%81-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/old.mospat.ru\/en\/2019\/12\/06\/news181003\/","title":{"rendered":"Statement of the Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of December 6, 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Holy Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, after careful deliberation of\u00a0recent developments in the sphere of inter-Orthodox relations, makes the following statement:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. We are compelled to declare that due to the anti-canonical actions of the Patriarchate of Constantinople in Ukraine, and also in connection with the actions perpetrated by the Primates of the Greek and Alexandrian Orthodox Churches, namely by their entering into eucharistic communion with\u00a0 the schismatic \u201cOrthodox Church of Ukraine\u201d, the situation in Orthodox Christianity\u00a0 has\u00a0 grown worse not only at the administrative but also at the spiritual level \u2013 that is, on the level of ecclesial communion in the Holy Sacraments.<\/li>\n
  2. It has become apparent that this crisis is not only a problem of bilateral relations between the Constantinopolitan and the Moscow Patriarchates, but it concerns the whole of World Orthodoxy, all the Local Orthodox Churches, since it is harming the very foundations of the life and missiology of Christ\u2019s Church.\u00a0 This problem is not administrative but ecclesiological.\u00a0 The new conception of the Patriarch of Constantinople as \u201cthe first without equals\u201d(\u201cPrimus sine paribus\u201d) has reared its head in world Orthodoxy, and is something which the Orthodox Church has never known previously , and which in actuality is a clear violation of the principle of the Church\u2019s catholicity and a consequence of the misunderstanding of the nature of the Church in general and of the role of the individual Local Churches, in particular.\u00a0 In addition, the Patriarchate of Constantinople began to concelebrate services with\u00a0 persons who were not canonically ordained, which in itself is a blasphemy and sacrilegious with regards to the Eucharist.<\/li>\n
  3. In view of this, the cessation of\u00a0 Eucharistic communion by the\u00a0 Ukrainian Orthodox Church with the Patriarchate of Constantinople and with the Churches and hierarchs who have recognised\u00a0 the schismatics is not an abuse of the Eucharist, or\u00a0 blackmail of the Eucharist, as some people have alleged,\u00a0but on the contrary it is a defense\u00a0 of the Eucharist and a safeguard of the canonical and spiritual purity as well as the integrity of the Church.\u00a0 After all, our Lord Jesus Christ, in the words of the Holy Apostle Paul: \u201d also loved the Church, and gave himself for it\u2026 That he might present it to himself a glorious Church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish\u201d.\u00a0 (Ephesians. 5: 25-27).<\/li>\n
  4. For these reasons, it is false and manipulative to accuse the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of allegedly moving toward self-isolation, specifically,\u00a0 by its suspension of\u00a0 Eucharistic communion with those who have themselves entered into communion with unrepentant schismatics.\u00a0 In fact, we uphold the purity of the canonical traditions of the Church, and protect the Church from blasphemy.\u00a0 Otherwise, if persons who have no canonical ordination are admitted to the priesthood, and if the schism is recognised by the Church, but the true Church of Christ is ignored or falsely called the schism, then there is a danger that the true Church may be substituted.\u00a0 Moreover, such anti-Church actions blur the line between the Church and the schism.\u00a0 As a result, a so-called new \u201cChurch\u201d structure is created, which is\u00a0 founded by men, in place\u00a0 of the true Church that was\u00a0 founded by our Lord Jesus Christ who: \u201chath purchased [it] with His own blood. \u201c(see Acts 20:28).<\/li>\n
  5. One of the basic principles of\u00a0 Canon law of the Orthodox Church is such that whomever enters into\u00a0 Eucharistic communion with the excommunicated will be excluded\u00a0 from communion with the Church himself.\u00a0 In this regard, the\u00a0 entering into communion\u00a0 by certain Local Churches with persons who have fallen into schism in other Local Churches and who have not truly repented and who are not canonically ordained, automatically raises the question of whether their continued\u00a0 eucharistic\u00a0 communion with these schismatics also makes them\u00a0 complicit in this sin, and which, in fact,\u00a0also causes them to be in violation of the abovementioned canonical principle?<\/li>\n
  6. We believe that the only way out of this crisis is to have a Pan-Orthodox Council discussion and find a solution to the whole range of these problematic issues.\u00a0 Recognising all the inherent\u00a0 difficulties involved in convening such a Pan-Orthodox meeting, we still have yet to see another way out of the crisis.\u00a0 Therefore, we welcome the initiative of His Beatitude\u00a0 Patriarch Theophilos III of the Holy City of Jerusalem and of All Palestine to convene a Pan-Orthodox Council in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.\u00a0 During the many difficult times in the history of our Church, there\u00a0 already such a case where the Patriarchate of Jerusalem provided assistance. This was in 1620 A.D.\u00a0 when His Holiness Patriarch\u00a0 Theophanes III of Jerusalem restored the Orthodox hierarchy in Kyiv, in order to replace those who had joined the Union under the pressure of the then Polish-Lithuanian authorities.\u00a0 We applaud, thank, and look forward to similar calls for a Pan-Orthodox meeting from the Primates and hierarchs of the other Local Orthodox Churches which, in fact,\u00a0\u00a0 has already started to happen more and more frequently of late.<\/li>\n
  7. It is to be noted that geopolitical and political factors\u00a0 have, unfortunately,\u00a0 started\u00a0 to blatantly interfere in the internal\u00a0 life of World Orthodoxy in unprecedented fashion.\u00a0 As a result, individual Local Churches have been\u00a0 making Church decisions under the influence of these factors, contrary to Church canons and centuries-old traditions of the Church.\u00a0 We understand that each Local Orthodox Church does its ministry within a particular state, and sometimes several or many states.\u00a0 Often, one or another Orthodox nation is historically very closely connected to both its own state and its Local Church.\u00a0 However, it is our deep conviction, that every Local Church in its service to God must be above national, state, or political boundaries and interests, and not be subjected to external pressure, remembering that the Kingdom of God we preach of is not of this world.\u00a0 (see John 18:36).\u00a0 If each Local Orthodox Church associates itself solely with the interests of its own state, then world Orthodoxy cannot be united, since it is well known that states engage in conflict or in wars with each other, but the Church must always preserve unity and reconcile people, whilst not becoming a party or a means of confrontation.\u00a0 We express our hope that the Holy Orthodox Church, with the help of God, will find the strength to overcome these challenges and maintain its unity;\u00a0 rising above national borders and interests, because in Christ there is neither \u201cGreek nor Jew\u2026, Barbarian, Scythian,\u2026 but Christ is all, and in all. \u201d(Col. 3:11).<\/li>\n
  8. We appeal to the archpastors, pastors, monks, and laity of our beloved Ukrainian Orthodox Church.\u00a0 Dear Vladykas, Fathers, brothers and sisters!\u00a0 It is not without Divine Providence that we here in Ukraine and within our Church, and within the bounds of World Orthodoxy, that the\u00a0 boundary line between the true Church and the schism lies today.\u00a0 In this situation, we must preserve the purity of the canonical system and the teaching of the Church.\u00a0Opponents are trying to scare us with the prospect of self-isolation.\u00a0 But as long as we continue to\u00a0 live in true faith, there cannot be any\u00a0 self-isolation. The blessed memory of His Beatitude Metropolitan Volodymyr\u00a0 of Kyiv and All Ukraine reminds us that:\u00a0 \u201cthere can be no self-isolation with Christ\u201d.\u00a0 In fact, our Ukrainian Orthodox Church today, through its various trials and tribulations , is upholding the unity of the whole Orthodox world.\u00a0 Don\u2019t be afraid!\u00a0 You are part of the one true Church!\u00a0 Love the Church, keep the Church and yourself in it, because through it the Lord saves us.\u00a0 And leave the rest to the Will of God.\u00a0 Remember, it is not Man who directs the Church, but our heavenly Father Himself.\u00a0 Let us pray that the Lord through his Holy Spirit will correct all human error, purify us from all evil things, and save our souls!<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    https:\/\/news.church.ua\/2019\/12\/06\/statement-of-the-synod-of-the-ukrainian-orthodox-church\/?lang=en<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

    <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    The Holy Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, after careful deliberation of recent developments in the sphere of inter-Orthodox relations, makes the following statement<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":181011,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[112,9,1,2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/old.mospat.ru\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/181003"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/old.mospat.ru\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/old.mospat.ru\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/old.mospat.ru\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/old.mospat.ru\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=181003"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/old.mospat.ru\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/181003\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/old.mospat.ru\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/181011"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/old.mospat.ru\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=181003"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/old.mospat.ru\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=181003"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/old.mospat.ru\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=181003"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}