KDA rector: UOC is following path of canonical independence after Council

The UOC Council on May 27, 2022, in Feofania. Photo: UOC

The resolutions of the Council of 2022 testify that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is moving towards canonical independence. This was stated by the rector of the Kyiv Theological Schools, Archbishop Sylvester of Bilohorodka, in his report “The Blessed Letter of Patriarch Alexy II (1990) and the Current Canonical Status of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church,” which was delivered at a round table dedicated to the 1700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council. This was reported by the press service of KDAiS.

Archbishop Sylvester noted that the three years since the Council held in Feofania allow for an assessment of the depth of the decisions made at that time. One of the most important outcomes of this Council was the approval of a new edition of the Statute on the Governance of the UOC, in which all provisions indicating subordination to the Russian Orthodox Church were removed.

“All mentions that the UOC is guided by the decisions of the Bishops' Councils of the ROC, receives the blessing of the Moscow Patriarch for the election of the primate, and that the name of the patriarch should be mentioned during the service have been removed,” emphasized Bishop Sylvester.

At the same time, he reminded that the first point of the new edition of the Statute still mentions the Blessed Letter of Patriarch Alexy II from 1990, which, according to some critics, keeps the UOC connected to the Moscow Patriarchate. However, Archbishop Sylvester emphasized that this mention is purely historical and has no practical significance for contemporary church life.

“The new edition of the Statute does not contain a single provision that would establish a legal or canonical connection with the ROC. The Letter of 1990 is not a document that the UOC is guided by today,” he noted.

The rector of the KDA also reminded that the Primate of the UOC, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphrius, in a letter to the State Service for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience (dated September 28, 2022), confirmed that the UOC has full canonical independence and no longer follows the resolutions of the 1990 Bishops' Council of the ROC. In addition, His Beatitude announced the withdrawal from the Holy Synod of the ROC.

“Thus, the Letter of 1990, being detached from the decisions of the ROC Council, loses its substantive significance,” noted Bishop Sylvester. “And the mention of it only marks the beginning of a new institutional history of our Church.”

He also emphasized that in practice, the UOC has long been carrying out independent communication with other Local Churches without seeking approval from Moscow. “We carry out external missions, maintain Eucharistic communion, and engage in dialogue with other Churches without the mediation of the ROC,” noted the archbishop.

According to the KDA rector, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church today demonstrates faithfulness to the spirit of conciliarity and strives to live in full accordance with canonical principles, not yielding to external pressure. “We hope that our path will be understood and supported by both other Local Churches and Ukrainian society,” summarized Bishop Sylvester.

In the opinion of the rector of the KDA, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church today demonstrates faithfulness to the spirit of conciliarity and a desire to live fully in accordance with canonical principles, without succumbing to external pressure. "We hope that our path will be understood and supported both by other Local Churches and Ukrainian society," concluded Bishop Silvester.

As reported by UOJ, the rector of KDA explained why the Letter does not mean subordination of the UOC to Moscow.

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