Clergyman of Vinnytsia Eparchy repents and returns to the Church from OCU

Cleric of the Vinnytsia Eparchy, Archpriest Roman Asafa returned to the UOC from the OCU after repentance. Photo: vinnytsia.church.ua

In March of last year, Archpriest Roman Asafa, rector of the Church of St. Seraphim of Sarov in the town of Kazatin left the canonical Ukrainian Church and joined the OCU. However, the press service of the Vinnytsia Eparchy reports today that he addressed a letter to His Eminence Metropolitan Barsanuphius of Vinnytsia and Bar, in which he offers his sincere repentance for his sin.

In his letter, Fr. Roman also declared his intention to steadily maintain loyalty to God and unity with the canonical Church.

Having offered his repentance, Fr. Roman was received as a priest of the Vinnytsia Eparchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and reinstated as rector of the Church of St. Seraphim.

The press service emphasizes that this is the third cleric of the eparchy to return from the schism.

Earlier, a former clergyman of the Volyn Eparchy of the UOC-KP, Vitaliy Kupchinsky, repented of his participation in the schism of the Church and returned to the UOC – while still a layman. The newly-received believer of the UOC explained that it is better to save the soul in the canonical Church by a layman than to destroy it, even as a "bishop", in the schism.

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