Archbishop Yevstratiy (Zorya) of the OCU commented on the statement of archpriest Mykolai Danylevych, deputy chairman of the DECR of the UOC-MP, that his denomination will resume communication with local churches, provided that they refuse to recognize the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.
"Reading his statements on this matter is both funny and sad," Archbishop Yevstratiy wrote on his Facebook page.
"The reason why they "broke off communion" is the only one - because they are part of the Moscow Patriarchate and simply formally duplicated the decision of their governing structure to break off relations, " the hierarch explained.
The UOC-MP, according to him, will resume communication only in two cases:
- either if it is restored by the Moscow Patriarchate;
- or if they really (and not deceptively for show) cease to belong to the Moscow Patriarchate.
"None of the local Churches, except the Russian Orthodox Church, has severed relations with the Ecumenical Patriarchate or other churches that recognize the OCU.
Therefore, the statement by the spokesperson for the Moscow Patriarchate in Ukraine is just another eloquent public proof that the jurisdiction led by Onufriy was part of the MP, and it remains so. Thus, they are rapidly becoming para-Orthodox "Witnesses of the Russian world sect"," the Archbishop of the OCU emphasized.