UOC Chancellor warns of danger of internal schism in the Church

Metropolitan Anthony. Photo: Metropolitan's Facebook page

The Administrator of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Anthony, warned of the danger of internal schism in connection with the suspension of citizenship of His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry. In his statement, the hierarch emphasized the importance of choosing an “appropriate form” of support for the Primate.

“It is unacceptable to exploit the sincere desire to defend His Beatitude to pursue at times one’s own personal goals, just as it is unacceptable to include in certain appeals theses that are deliberately capable of dividing the church environment,” Metropolitan Anthony noted.

The Administrator compared the current situation of the UOC to the 1920s–30s, when the Church endured brutal persecution. He recalled the 1927 message of loyalty to Soviet power from Patriarchal Locum Tenens Metropolitan Sergius, which “provoked disorder in the church environment for many years.”

“That is precisely what the anti-church authorities of the time sought: to weaken the Church, to divide it from within, and under good pretexts to plant poison in the minds of the faithful,” the hierarch emphasized.

Metropolitan Anthony urged people to remember this historical experience and avoid such a trap.

“In defending our Primate, we must not cover up a departure from the truth. External persecution is terrible, but internal schisms are even more frightening,” he concluded.

The hierarch warned that “in defending the Church, it is important not to become an instrument of struggle against the Church itself.”

Earlier, the UOJ reported that the episcopate of the UOC had appealed to Zelensky over the deprivation of the Primate’s citizenship.

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