Dumenko explains church raids by UOC refusal to engage in dialogue with OCU

Epifaniy Dumenko. Photo: Christians for Peace

The head of the OCU, Epifaniy Dumenko, speaking at the European Ecumenical Consultation on a Just Peace held in Warsaw as part of the “Paths to Peace” program, explained the seizures of churches in Ukraine by the unwillingness of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) to engage in dialogue with his structure, according to Christians Against War.

According to him, the refusal of His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry to engage in dialogue has been the primary cause of conflicts within communities.

"Metropolitan Onuphry immediately blocked any attempts to continue dialogue – not only formal and public, but even private and unofficial. Over the past 10 years, the Metropolitan has never provided a constructive response to the numerous appeals we have regularly sent to him and the jurisdiction he leads," Dumenko stated.

He lamented that even his most recent appeal, sent on August 15 this year with a proposal to start dialogue without any preconditions, also went unanswered. Nevertheless, he noted that interaction between communities continues at the level of laity and clergy. Dumenko claimed that over 2,000 UOC communities have already joined his structure.

"We sincerely desire dialogue, and I cannot agree with those who claim that the OCU is to blame for Metropolitan Onuphry's blocking of its initiation," said Epifaniy Dumenko.

He also criticized what he sees as unfair accusations that the OCU provokes conflicts within communities, attributing them to the UOC’s deliberate refusal to engage in dialogue. Dumenko compared this to Russia's tactics, which, according to him, also portrays itself as a victim of aggression while accusing Ukraine of the need to "defend itself."

As previously reported by the UOJ, religious scholar and theologian Yuriy Chornomorets harshly criticized the actions of the OCU leadership in a column on the Glavcom website. He highlighted the systematic denial of internal and external problems, calling it deceit.

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