UOC-MP disavowed the statements of the XXV World Russian People's Council

31 March, 17:30

The UOC MP distanced itself from and condemned the statements of the XXV World Russian People's Council, which took place on March 27, 2024. However, they did not break ties with Moscow.

This was stated in a statement by the UOC MP.

It is noted that the UOC MP "distances itself, categorically does not share, and condemns the ideas presented in this document."

The UOC MP emphasizes that on May 27, 2022, they declared their complete independence from the ROC, do not support the ideas of the "Russian world," and associate their earthly ministry with Ukraine, "which the Church has called to defend from the first day of the full-scale Russian invasion."

The UOC MP also condemned the claims of ROC clerics that the so-called "special military operation" "is a new stage of the national-liberation struggle of the Russian people against the criminal Kyiv regime and the collective West."

"From the perspective of the Gospel, military actions cannot be justified as 'sacred,' nor can they emanate from people who call themselves clergymen," said the UOC MP.

"In conclusion, we note that the mentioned text contains an apology for violence and justification of violations of spiritual-moral and evangelical principles, which poses a threat to Ukrainian identity, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of Ukraine. We believe that the ideas from the mentioned document cannot be supported by a religious organization that claims to be called Christian," the statement said.

It should be noted that despite loud statements about its independence from Moscow, the UOC MP still remains subordinate to the ROC and is its structural unit.

This is evidenced by the conclusion of the religious expertise of the Statute on the Administration of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church conducted by the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience.

The expert group, in particular, reached the following generalized conclusions:

- The adoption of a new version of the Statute on the Administration of the UOC (as of May 27, 2022) and the Resolution of the UOC Council did not lead to the severance of the church-canonical ties of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church with the Russian Orthodox Church. The status of the UOC as a structural unit of the ROC, which enjoys certain rights of autonomy but does not form an autocephalous Church, remains unchanged.

- The UOC has a church-canonical relationship with the ROC, part of it with the whole. The relations of the UOC with the ROC are not relations of one independent (autocephalous) church with another independent autocephalous church. The UOC also does not have the status of an autonomous Church recognized by other churches, and therefore, from the perspective of ecclesiology and canon law, it is a structural unit of the ROC, which has certain rights of independent formation without its own canonical subjectivity.

- The current activities or inactivity of the highest bodies of church authority and administration of the UOC indicate that the UOC continues to be in a relationship of subordination to the ROC. It does not act as an independent (autocephalous) Church and does not declare its own independence (autocephaly). The Expert Group did not find any documents or actions indicating the transformation of the UOC into an independent religious organization relative to the ROC.

You can read the full conclusion of the expert group at the link provided.