UOC KP Synod appeals to UAOC: Patriarch Filaret must lead the unified Church
On May 12, the Holy Synod of UOC-KP heard a statement by the UAOC Bishops' council on the association of the UAOC with the UOC KP into one church. In the Statement, as RISU has already reported,the UAOC officially declared its desire to start a real process of associationwith the UOC-KP and submitted a proposal to keepits historical name of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church and the UAOC dioceses and rural deans’ districts.
Upon reviewing all proposals of the UAOC on association, the Holy Synod of the UOC-KP have ruled:
1. The UOC Kyiv Patriarchate confirms its desire to resume dialogue with the UAOC regarding the association and positively perceives the reciprocal desire of the UAOC.
2. To conduct the dialogue with the UAOC, it sets the Committee, consisting of:
- Metropolitan Dymytriy of Lviv and Sokal, the Committee’s Chairman;
- Archbishop Yevstratiy of Chernihiv and Nizhyn;
- Archpriest Mykhailo Marusyak, member of the Supreme Church Council (Ivano-Frankivsk Diocese);
- Archpriest Oleksiy Holovatskyy (Ternopil Diocese);
- Archpriest Olexandr Trofymlyuk, member of the Supreme Church Council (Kyiv Diocese).
3. The UOC-KP stressed that the dialogue and the association shallcomply with the canons of the church, including 34th Apostolic rule.
4. The unchanged and principled requirementof the Kyiv Patriarchate is the recognition of Patriarch Filaret of Kyiv and all Rus-Ukraine by the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church as the Primate of the unified Church,just as the unificationcouncil did in 1992,recognizing Patriarch Mstyslav of the blessed memory as the Primate of the unified Church.
The First Hierarch heading the UAOC at the time of associationwill be included among the permanent members of the Holy Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church Kyiv Patriarchate upon agreement.
5. Approve previous proposals as to the dialogue on unification expressed by the Council of Bishops of the UAOC as of April 23, 2015, on keeping the historical name of the “Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church” and preserving the rural deans’ districts and dioceses of the UAOC.
6. Diocesan bishops of the UAOC, who are in charge of at least 30 religious communities and at least 25 priests, have joined the neighboring dioceses of the UAOC (or dioceses of the UOC-KP on the territory of the same region) as separate Vicariates. Larger dioceses of the UAOC (with 30 or more religious communities and 25 or moreclergymen) are part of the Kyiv Patriarchate as dioceses led by their bishops, without changing the internal structure of the diocese.
The structure of rural deans’ districtshas been preserved. Deans as well as superiors of congregations have retained their positions.
7. Call upon the Ukrainian Orthodox community to pray for the successful association of the churches, ask the bishops, clergy and laity of the UAOC to actively contribute to the immediateachievement of unity.
