1st Session of Committees of Kyivan Patriarchate and Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church on Unification Held

The first joint session of the committees set up by the Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kyivan Patriarchate (UOC-KP) and the Hierarchical Council of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAOC) to conduct a dialogue on unification was held on October 27, in a session hall within the Golden Dome Monastery of St. Michael.

On behalf of the Kyivan Patriarchate, the session was attended by the head of the committee, Metropolitan Dymytrii of Lviv and Sokal, Bishop Epifanii of Pereiaslav-Khmelnytskyi and Boryspil, Bishop Yevstratii of Bohuslav. The UAOC was represented by the head of the committee, Metropolitan Andrii of Halych, Metropolitan Makarii of Lviv, Bishop Volodymyr of Zhytomyr and Polissia, Bishop Ioan of Lviv and Sambir, Bishop Volodymyr of Vyshhorod and Podillia.

According to a report of the press service of the Kyivan Patriarchate, at the first session, the participants exchanged ideas on a wide range of questions on the history and present state of Ukrainian Orthodoxy and discussed various proposals as to possible ways of unifying the UOC-KP with the UAOC. A list of proposals was prepared to be included in the final document of the session.

In the afternoon, the second session was held where the hierarchs of the two churches considered and passed the text of the final document. The 10 paragraphs of the document present both the agreed general vision of the unification process and concrete proposals as to overcoming the existing church divide.

Upon approval of the document by the primates of the churches, it is to be submitted to be considered by the two churches, particularly, through discussion at the eparchial sessions. The next joint session of the committees is to be held according to the results of the consideration and discussion.

The final document was signed by all the participants of the session.