KDAiS shows inconsistency of State Ethnic Policy expertise on UOC
Head of State Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience V. Yelensky. Photo: risu.ua
The Kyiv Theological Academy and Seminary released a video, in which they analyzed the religious expertise of the UOC Statute, conducted and published by the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience on January 27, 2023. This was reported by the Information and Education Department of the UOC.
“In the Conclusion, there is no definition of the basic concepts that the expert group of religious scholars used. These are such concepts as ‘autocephaly’, ‘autonomy’, ‘letter’, ‘tomos’, ‘diptych’ and especially ‘ecclesiastical-canonical relation’. In the absence of a clear definition of these concepts, the expert group operated on them rather arbitrarily, suggesting their own interpretation, on which the objectivity and professionalism of the Conclusion ultimately depended,” the video says.
The KDAiS recalled that autocephaly cannot be proclaimed independently but must be granted.
“The UOC at the Council on May 27, 2022, decided on complete independence and self-governance. In a letter to the Chairman of the DESS dated June 1, 2022, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry outlined the status of the UOC in terms of ‘administrative independence’ and ‘complete canonical independence’. In addition, it clearly stated the delimitation of the UOC from the Moscow Patriarchate,” the Kyiv Theological Academy said.
“Therefore, it can be asserted with confidence that the ‘conclusion’ of the religious expertise of January 27, 2023 regarding the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is groundless, unfounded and contains all the signs of manipulation. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church was, is and will be the Church of the Ukrainian people. In the future, as well as more than 1000 years ago, She will carry out her salvific mission with peace and love, fulfilling the eternal gospel instructions of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,” the KDAiS emphasized.
As reported by the UOJ, the former head of the State Service for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience, Olena Bohdan, said that the conclusions of the DESS expert opinion on the discovery of ecclesiastical-canonical relations between the UOC and the ROC are unsubstantiated and full of assumptions.
Read also
US Secretary of Defense to the Army: God extends His arms over you
Pete Hegseth stated that American military personnel are "no longer defenders" but warriors "trained to destroy the enemy."
MP demands answers from Rivne authorities over UOC charity event
Bobrovska expressed outrage that city officials allowed the Rivne Eparchy of the UOC to hold a charity festival that raised money for children with cancer.
In U.S., Archbishop of Albania leads Divine Liturgy on Triumph of Orthodoxy
The Primate of the Albanian Church served in Massachusetts and called for visible unity among Orthodox jurisdictions.
Phanar backs common Easter date with Catholics and Protestants
Theologians of the Patriarchate of Constantinople have proposed revising calendar practice and bringing the celebration of Easter closer to the Western tradition.
DESS congratulates Ukraine’s Jews on Purim
The State Service for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience addressed Ukraine’s Jewish community on the occasion of Purim.
Patriarch Bartholomew becomes honorary professor of ecology in Greece
The Ionian University of Greece has awarded Patriarch Bartholomew the honorary title of professor in its Department of Environment.