28 communities have left the UOC-MP to join the OCU since the beginning of the war

28.03.2022, 12:00

The Primate of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, Metropolitan Epifaniy, says that dozens of communities and several monasteries have already joined the OCU.

According to Ukrinform, he shared this on Twitter.

"Dozens of communities, a number of monasteries in different regions of Ukraine have already voluntarily and consciously fulfilled their canonical duty and followed the Tomos of Autocephaly, making a choice in favor of the Church and Ukraine," Epifaniy said.

He added that the doors of the OCU are open to everyone.

At the same time, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine reported on Facebook that during the month of full-scale Russian aggression, 28 communities have officially joined the Orthodox Church of Ukraine from the Moscow Patriarchate.

In particular, these are communities in Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Khmelnytsky, Zakarpattia, Ternopil, Rivne, Volyn, Kyiv, Cherkasy regions. Among them are communities of two monasteries in the Lviv region.

“We lovingly congratulate our brothers and sisters in the family of the local Ukrainian Orthodox Church. We are sure that this is just the beginning, and many clergymen and believers will “open their eyes”, including those who are still in Oman and under Moscow subordination, having a person for their Patriarch who now blesses Russian soldiers for the Cain war,” the OCU noted.

The OCU also noted that “the time has come to make a choice with your conscience and heart: you are on the side of the aggressor, the ruthless killer of the civilian population, or on the side of your native land, its people, its Church.”

"Do not be assistants to the “Russian World”, silent henchmen of Russia. Act in a Christian way, on your God-given land, be with your people, and pray for our defenders. Do not hesitate to break the pernicious slavish affiliation to the Patriarchate, which is already stained with innocent human blood. Be worthy and free children of your native land and unite around the local Ukrainian Church! The doors of our church are always open to everyone,” the OCU said.

For those communities that decided to break off any relations with the MP and join the local Orthodox Church of Ukraine, the Synod approved the resolution "On the emergency procedure for admission to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine”, (Resolution No. 25).