The Primate of the UOC MP believes that the reason for the current religious crisis in Ukraine is the interference of Constantinople in the affairs of the UOC MP. In order to "correct this mistake," he proposes that the Ecumenical Patriarch recall Tomos of autocephaly of the OCU "and then everything will be back in its place."
The Primate of the UOC MP believes that the reason for the current religious crisis in Ukraine is the interference of Constantinople in the affairs of the UOC MP. In order to "correct this mistake," he proposes that the Ecumenical Patriarch recall Tomos of autocephaly of the OCU "and then everything will be back in its place."
The Primate of the UOC (MP) Onufriy said this in an interview with the radio station of the Metropolis of Montenegreo and the Littoral of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Radio Svetigora, Pravoslavnaya Zhizn (Orthodox Life) has reported.
"The crisis in Ukraine is caused by the legalization of lawlessness, that is, by the interference of the Church of Constantinople in the inner life of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which entailed removal of the bans from those who had fallen into schism, following which Constantinople restored communion with them."
As the hierarch noted, the establishment of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine is not just a mistake of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, it constitutes an offense under the canons and ecclesiastical law”.
The only way to normalize the religious situation in Ukraine, in his opinion, is to correct the mistakes made by the Phanar.
“There is a mistake made by Constantinople in an attempt to settle the issue of church division in Ukraine. In order to eliminate the new division that has emerged, one needs to go back to the point where the mistake was made, to correct the mistake, and then everything will fall into place. This is the only way to curb the crisis that has evolved in Ukraine," Metropolitan Onufriy stressed.
In an interview, the head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate has complained that his Church had been “driven to the catacombs” and boasted that his persecuted Church was being attended by lots of people.
"The temples are full and in many areas, the services are held in estates or other ancillary facilities. In fact, these are modern catacombs,” he said, referring to the current state of the UOC MP.
Note that Metropolitan Onufriy made an official visit to Montenegro from February 27 to 29. In the country, a confrontation has been ongoing for two months between the Serbian Orthodox Church and the government that supports the new law on freedom of religion. The Montenegrin opposition, with the support of Belgrade and Moscow, argues that the law is directed against the Serbian Church.
During his visit to Podgorica, Metropolitan Onufriy participated in anti-government rallies alongside with supporters of the Serbian Orthodox Church.