Kyiv cleric of OCU on lockdown: Temples are open, but there're no partakers

Cleric of the OCU Andrei Golovkov with Metropolitan Emmanuel of Gaul. Photo: facebook.com/Andrey Golovkov

The "priests" of the OCU, Andrei Golovkov and Andrei Shpunt, admitted in social networks that despite the conditions created for individual confession and communion, for more than a two-month quarantine period, they haven’t had a single partaker on weekdays. The comments of the clergymen are posted by blogger Alexander Voznesensky.

“Our temple is open daily, and there is no problem coming to the temple, confessing individually and partaking of spare Holy Gifts. I believed that if the number of people present was limited at the liturgy, more would come on weekdays. Indeed, in a situation where your personal temple is empty, there is only one priest who is a partaker, there is no danger. But since the beginning of the quarantine, which has been going on for more than two months, there has not been a single such partaker,” writes the Kiev cleric of the OCU and the teacher of the Theological Academy of this structure, Andrei Golovko.

The “priest" Andrei Shpunt reports on a similar situation: “Father Andrei, your thoughts are my thoughts! We have the same story in Cherkasy. Unfortunately."

The authors of the "Shepherd and Flock" telegram channel believe that the recognition of clerics of the OCU "is the answer to many questions, including:

1. Why is the number of patients with the coronavirus among the parishioners of the OCU so low? – Because this structure has no parishioners; 2. Why is the OCU so zealously advocating online worship? – Because there are no offline worshipers. 3. How many citizens of Ukraine support this structure? – Very few.

Therefore, nothing has changed with the introduction of quarantine for the OCU – there were no people then and there are no people now. For two months – not a single partaker!”

As reported by UOJ, the cleric of the OCU performs the Eucharist through a video conference.

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