“I have observed the ecumenical processes in Ukraine for a few years now and can confidently say that they have become more intensive each year.”

Oleh KISELIOV is a Candidate of Philosophical Sciences, the secretary of academics at the Department of Religious Studies at H. Skovoroda’s Institute of Philosophy of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, and the acting secretary of the Youth Association of Religious Studies Experts.

— As a scholar, how would you evaluate the success of the Week of Prayers for Christian Unity in Ukraine over the past three years?

— I have observed the ecumenical processes in Ukraine for a few years now and can confidently say that they have become more intensive each year. The Week of Prayers for Christian Unity was held earlier as well – five, six years ago (RISU posted info about these initiatives, by the way). However, in the last two-three years, they have been far more extensive, organizers having made efforts to inform a wider public about the events of the week.

On a related note, it is rather significant that the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church is the overseer of the ecumenical week, as it is the most ecumenically oriented Church in Ukraine. In addition to the epistle of Cardinal Myroslav Ivan Liubachevskyi “On unification of the holy Churches” (1994) and “The concept of the ecumenical position of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church” (2000), the UGCC also houses the Institute of Ecumenical Studies and its distance program on ecumenical studies and the Committee on Promotion of Christian Unity as well as a number of international conferences dealing with the problems of ecumenism.

No other church has done even one third of what the Catholics are doing. There are certain reasons for that. Firstly, in comparison with the Orthodox Church (or Orthodox Churches), where both outright anti-ecumenical feelings and critical sentiments regarding ecumenism are present, in the Catholic Church, deviation from the ecumenical course decreed by the Second Vatican Council is practically impossible. Secondly, there is a tendency, as presented by Bishop Brian Ferel, Secretary of the Papal Committee for Promoting Christian Unity, that Catholics are more ecumenically inclined in countries in which they are a minority.

Similar thought was also expressed by Fr. Adam Dobzhynskyi, the director of the Institute of Religious Studies of St. Thomas Aquinas in Kyiv, in an interview with the Parish newspaper, when he said that ecumenism is more pressing in Ukraine than in Poland.

This year’s Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is notable, first of all, for the diversity of the program (not evident in past years). Secondly, the events are to be attended by the three most influential Orthodox Churches: the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-[Moscow Patriarchate], the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kyiv Patriarchate and the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church. One can hardly expect that the participation of these churches in the events of the week means overcoming their differences and contradictions.

However, conflict between churches on thr level of clergy is not always fully accepted by laymen. The Week of Prayers for Christian Unity will strengthen the spiritual fraternization of believers of various church jurisdictions and confessions. It is here that we see the spirit of Christianity subordinate the letter of dogmas and canons.

Laymen are also a part of the church(es); they are its salt. Ecumenical events promote tolerance and, correspondingly, the harmonization of inter-confessional relations in Ukraine. However, one must not place too much emphasis on this thesis and expect a five-year-old tradition to be the panacea for any and all forms of hatred and conflict existing or that will exist between churches.

Often, discord between the faithful and the clergy of various denominations are caused not only by the propagation of negative stereotypes (e.g. “uniates,” “schismatics,” “moscvophiles.” “sectarians,” etc.), but also by financial, political, and moral factors. Ecumenical prayers can remedy the former but not the latter.

— And how can they affect Ukrainian society?

— The influence of the prayers for Christian unity on Ukrainian society? To be frank, my position on this issue is quite skeptical. Firstly, one must admit that the influence of religion on Ukrainian society is rather limited. For example, the Church’s protesting against the film based on Dan Brown’s “The Da Vinci Code” had no effect of the box office.

Another indicator can be the sociological poll of Kyiv citizens about the fate of the Kyiv Monastery of the Caves conducted a few years ago. The vast majority of respondents supported the status quo; they were against transferring the upper part of the monastery – a museum reserve to this day – to one of the churches.

Therefore, it is unlikely that we will see the unification of the Ukrainian nation under the flag of ecumenism. However, there is another possibility: spiritual unification of Christians can promote a continuous dialogue between representatives of various confessions that extends the confines of just that one week. Also, inter-Christian contacts will be established each year not only at the top of the church hierarchy – at the level of inter-denominational councils – but also at the level of laymen. The lay movement for the unity of churches in Ukraine is an excellent example of that.

The Week of Prayers for Christian Unity is the catalyst for such lay initiatives can springboard other ones. Only after this segment of church-religious life develops will we see an increase in the influence of the prayers on Ukrainian society. That being said, lay structures should not be involved in politics or serve the interests of political parties or neighbouring countries, as it is the case with church-affiliated communities associated with the UOC or even the Russian Orthodox Church.

— «Christian Unity in Ukrainian” – what is it and what can it become in the near future?

— This is an at once fantastic and complicated question. According to Protestant ecclesiological branch theory, in which each church and denomination is a separate branch on the tree of Christianity, Christian unity already exists but needs to be realized. That being said, Orthodox and Catholic ecclesiology do not accept this concept, even though part of the laity may accept it.

The most global project on Christian unity is the establishment of the Kyivan Patriarchate on the basis of unification of Churches of the “Kyivan tradition” (the UOC and the UGCC). It is a wonderful idea in terms of establishing Ukrainian statehood, reviving Ukrainian culture, establishing national identity… but do real mechanisms of its realization exist? I’m talking about mechanisms for such unification, not models.

They exist. But is it possible to implement them given the reality of dogmatic differences between the churches? Catholics and Orthodox believers have been conducting an official theological dialogue at the international level since 1979, but there are still many unsolved problems.

Therefore, I consider a model of Christian unity closer to the European or American one in which believers focus less on their denominational affiliation (though they clearly profess which church they attend) to be more realistic. Pastors of respective denominations are not the only authorities for believers. Once again, the Protestant model emerges… only time will show if it will develop in Ukraine.