The UOC on the Edge: A Lost Opportunity
Archpriest Serhii Prokopchuk, Director of the Office of the Sophia Brotherhood
So… the miracle didn’t happen.
Today’s meeting and consultation of UOC bishops ended in yet another disappointment.
We — the Ukrainian Orthodox Church — have lost our final chance for a positive resolution of our existential crisis in the years to come.
The loudest voice at the meeting was that of Metropolitan Feodosii of Cherkasy. His call to “preserve the canonical order of the Church and under no circumstances sever ties with the Mother Church” became the foundation of the UOC leadership’s position moving forward.
Appeals from several hierarchs to restore Eucharistic communion with four Local Churches were ignored.
The Primate’s address, in light of everything that has happened, appears to be nothing more than an attempt to soften the impact of the new legislation.
It is not a statement, and certainly not a decision of the Council or Synod. Merely a good intention — one that could shift with the first gusts of political wind.
The episcopate of the UOC couldn’t even manage to convene in the format of a Council of Bishops to demonstrate the conciliar spirit of the Church.
A pity.
What awaits the UOC?
- Further escalation of conflict between the UOC and Ukrainian society.
- An increase in property disputes between the UOC and the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU).
- Intensified pressure from the state.
- Mobilization of UOC clergy, who will no longer be able to obtain deferments or exemptions.
- “Persecution” and “catacombs” will become daily reality for every UOC parish — even the most remote ones. And this reality will stem not so much from fidelity to Christ and the Church as from loyalty to Moscow — and in particular, to Primate Metropolitan Onufrii.
Today’s inaction and lack of backbone among the UOC episcopate will only strengthen the role of the religious factor in the ongoing Russian war against Ukraine. It is evidence that the “Russian World” still lives in the minds and hearts of the majority of UOC representatives — from bishop to the last parishioner.
The UOC must walk its thorny path — through pain, suffering, trials, purification, and rethinking.
The time for miracles has passed…
The UOC on the Edge: A Lost Opportunity
Archpriest Serhii Prokopchuk, Director of the Office of the Sophia Brotherhood
So… the miracle didn’t happen.
Today’s meeting and consultation of UOC bishops ended in yet another disappointment.
We — the Ukrainian Orthodox Church — have lost our final chance for a positive resolution of our existential crisis in the years to come.
The loudest voice at the meeting was that of Metropolitan Feodosii of Cherkasy. His call to “preserve the canonical order of the Church and under no circumstances sever ties with the Mother Church” became the foundation of the UOC leadership’s position moving forward.
Appeals from several hierarchs to restore Eucharistic communion with four Local Churches were ignored.
The Primate’s address, in light of everything that has happened, appears to be nothing more than an attempt to soften the impact of the new legislation.
It is not a statement, and certainly not a decision of the Council or Synod. Merely a good intention — one that could shift with the first gusts of political wind.
The episcopate of the UOC couldn’t even manage to convene in the format of a Council of Bishops to demonstrate the conciliar spirit of the Church.
A pity.
What awaits the UOC?
Today’s inaction and lack of backbone among the UOC episcopate will only strengthen the role of the religious factor in the ongoing Russian war against Ukraine. It is evidence that the “Russian World” still lives in the minds and hearts of the majority of UOC representatives — from bishop to the last parishioner.
The UOC must walk its thorny path — through pain, suffering, trials, purification, and rethinking.
The time for miracles has passed…