Former OCU priest: There can be no talk of dialogue amid brutal violence

A parishioner of the UOC Cathedral in Cherkasy after an attack by OCU militants. Photo: Cherkasy Eparchy

In an interview with the Viche YouTube channel, UOC priest Andriy Shymanovych, who recently returned to the Church from the OCU, stated that dialogue among Orthodox Christians in Ukraine is necessary – but impossible as long as blatant falsehoods are being imposed and one side is committing brutal acts of violence against the other.

“You cannot build dialogue when brutal violence, aggression, and lies are taking place at the same time. We are witnessing a rebellion against reality, where we’re told of the alleged incredible and overwhelming authority of the OCU leadership, of crowds so large at OCU services that there’s no room to move. But the reality is different. I don’t understand how people can be shown such disrespect. We all see what’s happening – this is the information age. And the problems are real. So we must call things by their proper names,” the priest said.

“While we are ‘holding dialogue’ and trying to create a pretty picture, one of the UOC hierarchs is literally being beaten – pardon – with a club over his klobuk, and a cathedral is being seized, with shots fired from a pistol inside the church. We need to be honest: for a real, meaningful dialogue to begin, we must first diagnose the state we are in. We must say clearly: this is sin, this is evil. There must be open condemnation and a halt to these actions. Otherwise, this is just despotism and hypocrisy. We’re passing off falsehood as truth and pushing truth to the margins,” Fr. Andriy stated.

He emphasized that such events must not be silenced, pointing to the notorious Roman Hryshchuk from Bukovyna as an example – someone whom the OCU leadership has not only failed to condemn for acts of violence and church seizures but has actually rewarded.

“It’s very strange what he’s doing. What we’re seeing is not just silence from the OCU leadership – we’re seeing him being rewarded. This is a signal, a marker, a confirmation that says: ‘You’re doing everything right, Roma. Keep it up.’ Do his actions – which we’ve all seen and heard about – foster dialogue? Definitely no. They sow division,” the priest said.

He stressed that such actions not only fail to promote Orthodox unity – they drive it further and further away.

Earlier, the UOJ reported on Fr. Andriy Shymanovych’s reasons for returning to the UOC.

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