Kovalenko: OCU and UGCC are blood sisters

Protopriest Georgy Kovalenko, banned in ministry

Ex-cleric of the UOC Georgy Kovalenko, banned in ministry, in the radio interview with Voskresіnnia called the UGCC and OCU “blood sisters who have common roots of the Kiev Church of Vladimir, can understand each other and find many areas for cooperation”. 

"The UGCC is in unity with Rome, while the OCP is with Constantinople, but these Churches are like two sisters who have common roots and can understand each other, support and find many areas for joint ministry and cooperation," the cleric of the OCU said .

Georgy Kovalenko also spoke of the need to search for “unity in Christ” with the Uniates and welcomed the general statements of Sviatoslav Shevchuk and Epiphany about the resumption of a dialogue between the UGCC and OCU. According to Kovalenko, this dialogue was begun by Lubomir and Filaret, however, at the present time has every chance of reaching a new level. Also, the former spokesman of the UOC again reminded of the need to apologize to the Greek Catholics because of the Lvov Council in 1946, which liquidated the UGCC and marked the beginning of its transition to the underground activity. 

In addition, Georgy Kovalenko noted that the transitions of communities from the UOC to the OCU are smooth. He also recalled that the Ukrainian Lavras are not the property of monks and everyone can have access to them under law: "... Lavras cannot belong to a group of people living here and now – this is the property of generations, past and future." 

As the UOJ reported, in 2018, Kovalenko urged to repent before the Uniates, signing together with representatives of the UOC KP and the UGCC a statement in which they “stated with regret” that “neither the Russian Orthodox Church nor the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) still did not recognize their complicity in the tragic events of the twentieth century on the ban and attempts to eliminate the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, as well as in other crimes of the atheistic totalitarian Soviet regime against the freedom of conscience and human dignity".  

Kovalenko has lobbied his outspokenly Catholic projects for several years. Namely he is the author of the petition on recognizing the Catholic Christmas on December 25 as a public holiday.

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