Primate: UOC announced its complete separation from the Moscow Patriarchate

His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry. Photo: news.church.ua

At the annual meeting of the clergy of the Kyiv Eparchy, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry recalled the results of the Council, which took place in the monastery in Feofaniya, and noted that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church dissociated itself from the Moscow Patriarchate. This is reported by the Information and Education Department.

"The Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church approved changes to the Statute on the management of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. In particular, the provision that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is a self-governing part of the Russian Orthodox Church was removed from the Statute of the UOC. In this way, it not only enshrined the administrative independence of the UOC, which existed before that, but also the separation from the Moscow Patriarchate. According to the accepted changes, the Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is no longer a member of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, while the resolutions of the councils of the Russian Orthodox Church are not considered binding for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Also, the paragraph on commemoration of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus at divine services in the temples of our Church was removed from the Statute. In accordance with the conventional form of commemoration, the Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church commemorates all Patriarchs of Local Orthodox Churches, the diocesan bishop commemorates the Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, while parishes and monasteries commemorate the diocesan bishop. Such a tradition exists in other Local Orthodox Churches," said His Beatitude.

The Primate added that copies of the updated Statute were sent to the relevant state bodies: the President of Ukraine, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, the Cabinet of Ministers and directly to the State Service for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience.

Let us remind you that on December 14, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry presided over the meeting of the clergy of the Kyiv Eparchy.

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