UOC hierarchs oppose ROC's actions in Russian-occupied territories

Statement of the UOC hierarchs on the actions of the ROC Synod. Photo: Odesa Eparchy

On the evening of October 31, several diocesan Telegram channels published a “Statement of the Hierarchs of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church on the Actions of the Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church regarding UOC Dioceses Located in Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine.”

As of now, the appeal has been signed by 31 hierarchs of the UOC. The first among the signatories is Metropolitan Agafangel of Odesa and Izmail, a member of the Holy Synod of the UOC. Metropolitans, archbishops, and bishops primarily condemned the ROC Synod’s decision to release Metropolitan Hilarion of Donetsk and Mariupol from managing the Donetsk Eparchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

The UOJ publishes the document's full text:

“On October 24, 2024, the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church decided to release Metropolitan Hilarion of Donetsk and Mariupol from managing the Donetsk Diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and to send him into retirement. Similar decisions have previously removed hierarchs from other UOC dioceses in territories temporarily occupied by Russia. These decisions were made unilaterally, without any coordination with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which is canonically autonomous according to the Tomos (Letter) of Patriarch Alexy II dated October 27, 1990, and affirmed by the UOC Council decision of May 27, 2022.

We, the hierarchs of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, resolutely condemn this decision as anti-canonical, as ecclesiastical law governs the canonical relations between Orthodox Churches.

The Second Canon of the Second Ecumenical Council emphasizes the need to respect jurisdictional boundaries, warning against any attempts by one Church to impinge on the territory of another.

The Eighth Canon of the Third Ecumenical Council explicitly prohibits any bishop from intervening in another bishop’s jurisdiction.

Moreover, this decision undermines Ukraine’s independence and the very existence of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church amidst the difficult conditions of military conflict in Ukraine. The anti-canonical removal of Metropolitan Hilarion, a Ukrainian by origin, who established the Donetsk Eparchy and served as a longstanding archpastor in Donetsk, and the appointment of a Russian hierarch in his place clearly demonstrates Moscow’s aim to annex the canonical territory of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church to destroy it.

We do not agree with this decision, demand its immediate cancellation, and call for an end to aggressive church policies regarding the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and its suffering flock, for the respect of the canonical boundaries of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, and for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.

Hierarchs of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church:

AGAFANGEL, Metropolitan of Odesa and Izmail
ANATOLIY, Metropolitan of Polissya and Sarny
AGAPIT, Metropolitan of Mohyliv-Podilskyi and Sharhorod
ALEXIY, Metropolitan of Balta and Ananyiv
NIKODIM, Metropolitan of Zhytomyr and Novohrad-Volynskyi
VOLODYMYR, Metropolitan of Volodymyr-Volynskyi and Kovel
YEVLOGIY, Metropolitan of Sumy and Okhtyrka
THEODOR, Metropolitan of Mukachevo and Uzhgorod
VOLODYMYR, Metropolitan of Kamianske and Tsarychanka
PHILARET, Metropolitan of Lviv and Halych
NIKOLAY, Metropolitan of Kremenchuk and Lubny
VARSONOFIY, Metropolitan of Vinnytsia and Bar
ALEXIY, Metropolitan of Voznesensk and Pervomaisk
BOGOLEP, Metropolitan of Oleksandriya and Svitlovodsk
NATHANIEL, Metropolitan of Volyn and Lutsk
VICTOR, Metropolitan of Khmelnytskyi and Starokostiantyniv
PANTELEIMON, Archbishop of Bucha
ALEXANDER, Archbishop of Horodnytsia
JONAH, Archbishop of Obukhiv
DIODOR, Archbishop of Yuzhne
VICTOR, Archbishop of Artsyz
IOANN, Archbishop of Zolotonosha
SERGIY, Archbishop of Bolhrad
PIMEN, Archbishop of Rivne and Ostroh
SPYRIDON, Archbishop of Dobropillia
NIKODIM, Archbishop of Liubech
CYRIL, Bishop of Bishev
JACOB, Bishop of Drohobych
ILARION, Bishop of Svalyava
ALIPIY, Bishop of Tarutyne
ANASTASIY, Bishop of Ovidiopol

THE SIGNATURE COLLECTION CONTINUES.

Previously, the UOJ published reflections regarding the UOC’s autonomy and the removal of the Donetsk Metropolitan.

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