Dumenko accuses Romanian Church of ethnophyletism

Patriarch Daniel. Photo: basilica

At a recent “bishop’s council,” the head of the OCU, Serhiy (Epifaniy) Dumenko, accused the Romanian Church of ethnophyletism.

This was his reaction to Bucharest’s creation of the “Romanian Orthodox Church of Ukraine.” According to Dumenko, this step “without the consent of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine is a direct violation of canonical principles and falls under the condemnation of ethnophyletism by the Great Constantinople Council of 1872.”

He assured that the OCU “is ready and willing to provide ethnic Romanians in Ukraine, within its own jurisdiction, the same rights of church self-government that Ukrainians have in the Romanian Orthodox Church.” In his words, “attempts to create a jurisdiction without regard for canonical rules and the norms of the Tomos of autocephaly will not bring benefit to Ukrainian Romanians, but will only deepen problems and divisions.”

It is worth noting that the OCU has no Romanian-speaking parishes. Dumenko is referring to UOC communities that have flatly refused to voluntarily join the OCU.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that, according to statements by the Romanian Church, the UOC’s Romanian-speaking parishes reject joining the OCU.

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