Serbian Patriarch: We recognize only the UOC led by His Beatitude Onuphry

Serbian Patriarch Porfirije. Photo: pravlife.org

The Serbian Orthodox Church recognizes only the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, led by His Beatitude Onuphry, Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine. This is stated in the welcoming speech of the Serbian Patriarch Porfirije to the organizers and participants of the International Conference "Catholicity of the Church: Theological, Canonical and Historical Dimensions."

The greeting of the Primate of the Serbian Orthodox Church was read by the Vicar of His Holiness the Serbian Patriarch and a participant in the theological conference in Kyiv, Bishop Anthony (Pantelic) of Moravici.

“The Lord judged us to live in an age when 'the love of most will grow cold because of the increase of wickedness' (Matthew 24:12) and impoverished sense of catholicity in the Orthodox world. The consequence of this crisis was the hardships that befell the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The trials facing the Orthodox people of Ukraine are not easy. According to the law of ecclesiastic life, unity and catholicity, we empathize with our brothers. When in the recent past Serbian churches were turned into ruins and thousands of Serbs became refugees, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church was with us spiritually, and we always felt the prayerful support of Kyiv," said the Serbian Patriarch in his address.

According to the Patriarch, “support for schismatics, threats and violence, seizures of Orthodox churches and the adoption of discriminatory laws against canonical Orthodoxy cannot be justified by any state or national considerations, because all this is open rebuke against Christ the Savior and His One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.”

"The Church of St. Sava has always recognized only one canonical Church in Ukraine – the Ukrainian Orthodox Church under the omophorion of His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry. Sharing our communion from a single chalice, we pray for an end to the unrest on the Ukrainian land,” Patriarch Porfirije of Serbia said in his address to the conference participants and the Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

At the end of his speech, the Vicar of the Serbian Patriarch, Bishop Anthony of Moravici, was awarded Order of the UOC of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir of I Degree for his services to the Holy Church.

As the UOJ reported, a Conference on Primacy and Catholicity of the Church is held in Kyiv on November 11.

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