Archbishop Lubomyr (Husar) of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church stated in an interview to Spirituality that “our return to Kyiv was not a transference.”
“I would like to note that I did not transfer anything but restored what was there 200 years ago. You know, the Orthodox took a stance to consider the moving of the seat as an intervention by our church in eastern Ukraine, saying that the faithful in the west of Ukraine are not enough for us. In reality, we have returned after 200 years of absence. In the end of the 19th century, the church was in Kyiv, then, we were driven away and we have returned,” said the spiritual leader of the Greek Catholics.
According to the archbishop, it is an act of “aggression” for those who view this phenomenon through the church-political prism.
“But the Orthodox, who think objectively, know the history and therefore view these events as normal. In addition, we always explain and stress that we have come to Kyiv and eastern Ukrainian regions not as invaders but to help and support our faithful who live there for various reasons. Also, our return underscored the fact that one thousand years ago, there was one undivided church in Kyiv with one metropolitan. Unfortunately, this church is now divided into four branches, three Orthodox ones and one Greek Catholic. Therefore, today, we must take steps to restore the original unity, otherwise, we will lose our identity,” concluded the archbishop, the Information Department of the UGCC reported.