Dumenko laments that believers in Zakarpattia are not joining his structure

Epifaniy Dumenko. Photo: OCU

On October 27, during the consecration of a church in Khust, OCU head Epifaniy Dumenko stated that “this is still, to a certain extent, a unique opportunity,” referring to his structure’s “services” in Zakarpattia. This was reported on the official OCU website.

“In many other parts of Ukraine, the opportunity to offer prayers in the native language and feel a sense of belonging to the large family of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine has already become common. But for several reasons, the opportunity for Orthodox believers in Zakarpattia to pray in their own, native, local Orthodox Church – to sincerely pray together with others for Ukraine, for our modern heroes-defenders, for victory over the Russian empire of evil, for the liberation of those enslaved by the false ‘Russian world,’ and for the establishment of true and just peace – remains, to a certain extent, a unique opportunity,” Dumenko said.

In his view, the reason that Orthodox Ukrainians in Zakarpattia are not joining his structure is because they “still remain under the ‘spell’ of the ‘Russian world.’”

As reported by the UOJ, the OCU held its first “service” in a church taken from the Romanian-speaking UOC parish.

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