Moscow is now making titanic efforts to make the UOC dependent on the ROC again, - Cyril Hovorun
This opinion was expressed by the theologian Archimandrite Cyril Hovorun in the talk with Orest Sohar in the project "Orestocracy" on the Obozrevatel website.
"Moscow is now making, I would say, titanic efforts to bring the UOC to dependence on the Russian Orthodox Church, and there is no guarantee that these attempts fail. But first of all, the situation now depends on the pressure of the community itself within the UOC and on the pressure of Ukrainian society itself. In other words, Ukrainian society should continue to encourage the UOC to unite with the OCU in the end," the Archimandrite believes.
When asked whether the actions of Metropolitan Onufriy and the UOC are sincere, Cyril Hovorun said:
"First of all, these are the sentiments that prevail within the UOC itself: they are pro-Ukrainian, this is the feeling of disappointment in Moscow, in Patriarch Kirill. In fact, under the pressure of this discontent, this disappointment, Metropolitan Onufriy was forced to change his position. The sincerity of intentions is also evidenced by the responses within the Moscow lobby: it has already opposed the decision of the UOC. We can already see how individual dioceses have begun to distance themselves or separate from the Lavra defiantly. These are the Crimean and Donetsk dioceses and the Diocese of Rovenky in the Donetsk region.
On the one hand, Moscow said that we understand this, on the other hand, there is a storm of discontent inside and attempts to roll back the situation as soon as possible.
The most important decision, in my opinion, that was made at the Council on May 27 is that from now on, every elected Metropolitan of Kyiv will not need approval in Moscow. This is the Rubicon through which the UOC has passed – from the status of a dependent Church to the status of the de facto independence from the Russian Orthodox Church."
According to Archimandrite Hovorun, a threat of a rollback exists.
"Moscow is now working to reverse the decision of May 27 to make the UOC dependent again. The risk is quite high, and everything will depend on the stability of the position of Metropolitan Onufriy, hierarchs of the UOC, and the community itself. Moscow will act through its various figures and agents."
