Metropolitan of UOC-MP Believes Greek Catholics Have No Right to Have Church in Odesa

The Odesa Eparchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate published an official statement regarding the possibility of constructing a Greek Catholic church in Odesa. "In Odesa, where the vast majority of the residents are believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, there is such a small number of Greek Catholics that there is no need to build not only a cathedral but even a prayer house for the Uniates," stated Metropolitan Ahafanhel (Savin) of Odesa and Izmail of the UOC, who is also a deputy of the Odesa Regional State Administration and a representative of the Party of Regions.

The statement reads that "the expected construction in Odesa, on the territory of the Prokhoriv Public Garden, of a cathedral of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church is the Uniates' attempt to aggressive expand in the Odesa region."

According to the press service of the Odesa Eparchy of the UOC, the construction of a cathedral of the UGCC in the Orthodox city of Odesa will cause indignation and protest of the clergy and the Orthodox believers of the Odesa region, "will create in our peaceful city a situation of the interreligious conflict, will not be conducive to strengthening peace and social agreement in the Odesa region."

In the end, the statement reads that Metropolitan of Odesa of the UOC and the clergy of the Odesa Eparchy consider it unadvisable and very dangerous to construct a religious object "of Uniates in the capital of our region."

Further Information:
As of March 2010, there are 10,000 Greek Catholics in Odesa. In addition, according to the Chancellor of Odesa-Crimean Exarchate of the UGCC, Volodymyr Zhdan, there are several large Greek Catholic communities in Odesa Oblast, such as Ilichivska, Rozdilnianska, Berezovska, etc.