US-Canada Diaspora to Epifaniy: This "Istanbul Gambit" has gone on too long

Epifaniy was urged to take control of Ukrainian parishes under the Phanar in the U.S. Photo: Orthodox Times

The Vicariate of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) in the U.S. and Canada has sent an official appeal, signed by Secretary Viktor Poliarny, to Epifaniy Dumenko and the members of the Synod, urging them to determine the official status of Ukrainian parishes abroad.

In the letter dated February 26, 2025, and published by the Churcher Telegram channel, the parishes of the Vicariate – founded by the UOC-KP in 2002 and automatically incorporated into the OCU after the "Unification Council" – are said to now be "left on the sidelines" and "effectively excluded from church life."

"We feel like exiles, like orphans forgotten in times of joy. While others celebrate and rejoice, we grieve and weep, for despite our years of labor and service, we have been rejected," lamented members of the diaspora.

Referring to the provisions of the OCU Tomos, which stipulate that all foreign parishes are to be transferred to the Phanar, the Vicariate stated that "now more than ever, our Mother Church must extend a helping hand to her children scattered around the world and do everything possible to provide them with comprehensive spiritual and moral support."

"We believe that no hierarch of the OCU today has the right to remain silent or indifferent to the fate of their compatriots, nor to reject any of them, or worse, to force them into foreign spiritual centers against their will," the document states.

The diaspora representatives expressed their disappointment that "this 'Istanbul Gambit' has dragged on for too long, and only because the Kyiv Metropolia has not spoken a single word in our support, we have effectively been excluded from church life."

"We stand firm in our position and will never agree to the conditions offered by representatives of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. We will never abandon our identity, for the Ukrainian Church belongs to Ukrainians," the document asserts.

The Vicariate also complained that the Phanar, "in opposition to our Vicariate," created a Slavic Vicariate "whose leadership includes Russian priests who, until recently, openly expressed their disdain and hatred for the Ukrainian Church."

The document's authors also accused the head of the Phanar’s Archdiocese in the U.S. of "openly accusing us of nationalism, calling us 'schismatics.'"

"We consider this an expression of imperial policy, no better than Moscow’s, because only there is love for one’s homeland, church, and people considered nationalism," the document emphasizes.

The Vicariate called on Dumenko to "take responsibility for organizing and forming a unified center for overseeing the parishes in the U.S., which would be directly subordinate to the Primate of the OCU – just as it was during all the years of the Vicariate’s existence within the UOC-KP."

"We believe that the letter of the Tomos cannot be more important than the spirit of Christian love," the document states, demanding a clear definition: "Is the Orthodox Church of Ukraine the Mother for all Ukrainians, regardless of where they live? Or only for those residing in Ukraine?"

The letter was written "on behalf of and by the authority of the rectors and heads of parish councils of the parishes within the OCU Vicariate in the U.S. and Canada."

Earlier, UOJ reported that in the U.S., the Phanar’s archons raised a toast in honor of Dumenko, calling him an example of faith.

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