Dumenko: UOC priests say they’d rather give up priesthood than join us
Serhiy Dumenko. Photo: Screenshot from the "We Are Ukraine" YouTube channel
The head of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), Epifaniy Dumenko, stated in an interview with Apostrophe that clergy and believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) are reluctant to join his organization. He attributed this to their adherence to the ideology of the “Russian world.”
“Unfortunately, not many clergy are joining the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. The ideology of the ‘Russian world,’ unfortunately, has deeply infiltrated the minds of both clergy and ordinary believers, who are trying to remain loyal to the Moscow Patriarchate to the very end,” Dumenko said.
According to him, members of the UOC allegedly believe that “without Moscow there is no salvation, that grace operates only with Moscow, that salvation is there,” and that “they have, in a sense, become adherents of this ‘Russian world’ ideology.”
He also shared that “many clergy have said that they are even willing to leave the priesthood entirely, to abandon their ministry, rather than join the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.”
Earlier, the UOJ reported that Dumenko claimed his organization now has 9,000 communities.
Read also
OCU activist admits breaking into UOC church in Sloviansk
Oleksandr Onyshchenko said that the OCU held its first "service" at the Seraphim Church, which had previously been broken into by forcing the locks and doors.
Archimandrite Ioustinos, longtime keeper of Jacob's Well, dies in Jordan
Archimandrite Ioustinos (Mamallos), the keeper of Jacob's Well in Nablus, has died after a prolonged illness.
Pilgrim group from Kyiv Theological Seminary visits Mount Athos
KTS students are making a pilgrimage to the holy sites of Romania, Greece, Mount Athos and Italy.
UOC cathedral celebrates its patronal feast in Ternopil
The service in the cathedral of the Holy Martyrs Faith, Hope, Love and their mother Sophia was led by Metropolitan Serhii of Ternopil, concelebrated by four hierarchs.
MinCulture marks centenary of Soviet-era reserve at Lavra's Refectory Church
Representatives of the Ministry of Culture presented awards to the Reserve's employees on the occasion of the anniversary at the Refectory Church of the Lavra.
Conference to mark 1700th anniversary of Christianity adoption held in Georgia
In Georgia, representatives of the Church and the state noted the defining role of Christianity in the country's cultural development.