The Primate of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, Metropolitan Epifaniy of Kyiv and All Ukraine, said that the transition of parishes from the Moscow Patriarchate to the OCU slowed down due to the "legal struggle" in the courts.
"This has worsened the transitions recently. A certain pressure is being exerted, and now there is a legal struggle in the courts. Although we are almost 100% winning all lawsuits from the Moscow Patriarchate. They are trying to appeal. But if the community has made a decision, no court can ever prohibit or reverse the decision of this community. If they want to be in the Ukrainian church, they have this right, according to the Constitution and Ukrainian laws," Metropolitan Epipfaniy said in an interview with Radio Liberty.
The Primate of the OCU also answered the question of a believer who asked: which Church to go to if there are two Churches of the Moscow Patriarchate and one Greek Catholic Church in his city.
"This is a problem in eastern Ukraine as a whole, there are many people who want to attend the OCU, but, unfortunately, they are not in that area. And they have to go to the churches of the Russian Orthodox Church. This will change over time. Because the community changes. We need to unite. We need to do everything in our power to move in the direction of transition," said Metropolitan Epifaniy of Kyiv and all Ukraine.
As for the transition mechanism, he said: "Each community is determined independently, makes decisions, and meets for a general meeting. And if there are two-thirds of the votes in favor, then the decision is considered valid. Then the relevant documents are prepared for the regional administration, where re-registration takes place. There are relevant datasheets, there are relevant recommendations on the internet on how this can be legally implemented correctly."