"Only our Church has canonical jurisdiction in Ukraine," - OCU Synod on the decision of the Romanian Orthodox Church
This was reported by the OCU website.
The Synod members decided to write letters to the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and Romanian Patriarch Daniel, presenting the position of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.
According to the OCU Synod, one of the fundamental principles of the canonical order and structure of the Orthodox Church is that each local Orthodox Church has exclusive jurisdiction within its canonical territory. It was also established by the Great Constantinople Council of 1872 that the basis for the formation of the Church's canonical structures cannot solely be the tribal, phyletism principle, which does not unite the Orthodox faithful but divides the single Body of the Church and creates schism.
Furthermore, the letters emphasize that according to the canonical order and the definition of the Tomos on autocephaly of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, only the Orthodox Church of Ukraine has canonical jurisdiction over the entire internationally recognized territory of Ukraine, including the territory recognized and friendly to the Romanian state, and no other church.
The OCU Synod reminded that in their session on July 27, 2019, they made a decision: "Taking into account the pastoral needs of Romanian-speaking Orthodox communities in Ukraine, following the example of the organization of church life of parishes of the Romanian Orthodox Church with a predominant number of ethnic Ukrainians - to establish the Orthodox Romanian Vicariate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Orthodox Church of Ukraine) for religious organizations (religious communities and monasteries) in Ukraine with a predominant number of ethnic Romanians."
The Holy Synod expresses hope that all issues requiring regulation will be resolved by the Romanian and Ukrainian Local Churches in the spirit of brotherly love, canonical order, and the provisions of the Tomos on autocephaly of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.
It is important to note that the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church, under the chairmanship of Patriarch Daniel, decided to establish its structure in Ukraine at its meeting on February 29, 2024.
