UOC cleric: No monastic tonsures in OCU Theological Academy for 5 years

Priest Andriy Shymanovych. Photo: Facebook

Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) Priest Andriy Shymanovych, who recently returned from the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), shared his observations on the internal issues within the organization. In a video message posted on his Facebook page, he noted that the OCU largely focuses its activities on hostility towards the UOC rather than addressing the Church's pressing spiritual needs.

According to Father Andriy, a key issue within the structure led by Epifaniy Dumenko is the absence of monasticism, which he believes is an important indicator of the spiritual health of any Orthodox Church.

Fr. Andriy pointed out that over the past five years, not a single monastic tonsure has taken place at the Kyiv Orthodox Theological Academy (KPTA), the OCU’s highest educational institution.

"Regarding the overall situation in the OCU... There are wonderful people, excellent people, and priests. But the general situation... There are serious problems. When I say that there haven't been any monastic tonsures in the Kyiv Orthodox Theological Academy for five years, it means that young men graduating from seminaries and academies don't want to seriously commit their lives to this structure. It is not normal for an Orthodox Church to have virtually no monasticism. This is a big problem," Shymanovych emphasized.

As previously reported by the UOJ, OCU cleric Andriy Shymanovych, who had earlier left the Ukrainian Orthodox Church for the jurisdiction of Epifaniy Dumenko, announced his decision to leave the OCU.

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