The Romanian website stiripesurse.ro published a statement from the Romanian Patriarchate regarding the situation in Ukrainian Orthodoxy. The statement emphasizes the Church's right to establish its own church structure for the Romanian-speaking population in Ukraine — the so-called “Romanian Orthodox Church in Ukraine.”
This is pointed out by historian and religious scholar Dr. Serhii Shumylo in his blog on RISU.
“While denying the possibility of Romanian parishes in Ukraine transferring to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) and forming a separate Romanian vicariate within it, the Romanian Orthodox Church is making claims against the Ukrainian state, which it asserts ‘refuses to recognize the Religious Association (Administration) of the Romanian Orthodox Church of Ukraine.’”
According to him, the Romanian Patriarchate “neglects to mention Russia's war against Ukraine, the significant destruction — including hundreds of Orthodox churches and other religious buildings — and the thousands of civilian casualties stemming from over a decade of brutal Russian aggression.” Instead, the Romanian Patriarchate attempts to accuse the Ukrainian state of violating its own laws regarding the rights of the Romanian Orthodox Church to operate in Ukraine.
"They also insist on the need for 'written guarantees from both church authorities and the Ukrainian state that the ethnic and linguistic identity of Romanians will be respected. This would ensure that Romanian Orthodox Christians can organize themselves into a Romanian Orthodox vicariate and maintain spiritual ties with the Romanian Patriarchate," Serhii Shumylo points out.
At the same time, the authors of the commentary suggest that the Romanian Church's recognition of the autocephaly of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine “will automatically lead to increased pressure from the Ukrainian authorities.” This pressure might compel Romanian-speaking believers to 'follow the jurisdiction of Metropolitan Epifaniy', rather than remaining under the so-called Romanian Orthodox Church in Ukraine.
Commenting on the reasons for the existing division and crisis in Ukrainian Orthodoxy, the Romanian Patriarchate attributes these issues to the presence of “Russian believers” in Ukraine and their 'ties to the Moscow Patriarchate.'
"The Tomos was accepted only by Ukrainian Orthodox Christians who had not been in communion with the Moscow Patriarchate. Consequently, the problem of church unity in Ukraine remains unresolved, in part due to the large number of Russian believers who maintain direct connections with the Moscow Patriarchate," the Romanian Patriarchate said in a statement.
As noted by Serhii Shumylo, the UOC is referred to by the Romanian Orthodox Church solely as a structure of the Moscow Patriarchate operating in Ukraine. In particular, the authors of the commentary point out that “there are 127 Romanian Orthodox parishes in Ukraine, primarily located in Northern Bukovina, which are under the jurisdiction of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Moscow Patriarchate.”
"Thus, the Romanian Orthodox Church explicitly refers to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) as ‘Russian believers who maintain direct ties with the Moscow Patriarchate.’ This statement overlooks the fact that there are many Ukrainians among the UOC's believers. Furthermore, the commentary does not acknowledge any “independence” of the UOC from the Moscow Patriarchate (MP). It suggests that the Romanian Orthodox Church does not recognize the UOC's independence and views its hierarchs and priests as representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine," concludes Serhii Shumylo in his blog on RISU.