The OCU is losing its halo as a “local and independent church”
Created in Ukraine under the patronage of the Patriarchate of Constantinople and the direct participation of the Ukrainian authorities, the OCU is confidently moving towards its split.
The Kiev online newspaper “Strana” writes about this, recalling that the head of the so-called “Kyiv Patriarchate” Filaret announced the convening of a council, where it is planned to leave the subordination of the Patriarchate of Constantinople.
“The breakup is already inevitable. Filaret openly calls [the head of the OCU] Epiphanius and his supporters puppets of Constantinople, presenting himself as the only champion of a truly independent Ukrainian church. True, Filaret himself admits that he can break off a small piece. Still, for too many hierarchs, the at least relative canonicity that they acquired thanks to the tomos of Bartholomew plays a role. And if for Filaret the choice between the UOC-KP and the OCU is a choice between power and pension, then for many others it makes no difference who to obey, what matters is what this submission gives,” the publication notes.
At the same time, the authors believe, one should not underestimate the significance of Filaret’s current step, since “the OCU will lose the halo of a local and independent church.”
“When the UOC-KP is next to the OCU, the Epiphany Church will gain a foothold in the minds of the masses as a branch of the Patriarchate of Constantinople - that is, it will become completely different from what was expected of it. But for all Ukrainian Orthodoxy this is, of course, a positive phenomenon. Because it reduces the degree of confrontation that Poroshenko artificially brought into it. And peace in society, including religious peace, is what Ukraine needs most today,” the publication sums up.
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