UOC-MP Metropolitan: If everything develops in canonical way, I see no obstacles to joining One Local Ukrainian Church
Metropolitan Oleksandr (Drabynko) of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate, former secretary of the late Metropolitan Volodymyr, of Kyiv and All Ukraine voiced the possibility of moving to the One Local Church.
He said this in an interview on Tuesday, October 23, in a broadcast on Radio Liberty.
“I tend to think that if everything develops in a canonical way as it goes now, then I see no obstacles to becoming a member of this one and undivided local Ukrainian Church,” said Metropolitan Oleksandr.
According to the hierarch, the Ukrainian Church repeatedly fought for its independence after it was annexed by Moscow in 1686.
“We have been talking for a hundred years already that the UOC wants independence. This is not the first attempt, so to speak, to make come true a dream of self-identification of the Ukrainian people,” said Metropolitan Oleksandr.
He is planning to discuss the alleged transition with his flock.
According to Metropolitan Drabynko, the provision of the Tomos to the Church of Ukraine will restore historical justice:
“First, it is historical justice. Secondly, Patriarch Bartholomew said: “Ukraine deserves to have its own local church.” Still, we have an ancient state with a long, rich history, originality, culture. And the level of religiosity in Ukraine is much higher than in other CIS countries, which is not a secret to anyone. This is shown in the statistics of the attendance of churches, worship, and the very presence and number of churches. Even the question of how the autocephaly is discussed in the Ukrainian society shows how highly religious our society is. If it were not religious it would not have been interested, and this question would not have excited such an interest. But since Ukraine is a religious state, then the resonance is, accordingly, very great.”
