OCU “metropolitan” refuses to pray with Dumenko on “Statehood Day”

Metropolitan Mykhailo Zinkevych of Lutsk and Volyn (center) with representatives of the UGCC and RCC at a prayer service. Photo: Rascolam.net

On July 15, Metropolitan Mykhailo Zinkevych of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), serving in Lutsk and Volyn, held a joint prayer service with representatives of the Roman Catholic Church and the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) in Lutsk. At the same time, official OCU celebrations for Ukraine’s “Statehood Day” were taking place at the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, led by Epiphanius Dumenko, according to Rascolam.net.

Zinkevych’s service was held among the ruins of an ancient church dedicated to the Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian in the center of Lutsk. The prayer event included participants from various Christian denominations, including Greek Catholics and Roman Catholics.

The day before, on July 14, Zinkevych had attended a general church assembly of OCU clergy in Kyiv. Therefore, his absence from the central ceremony does not violate any formal ecclesiastical rules. However, his decision to hold an alternative service precisely on the day of the official celebration is notable given the current complex intra-church dynamics.

As previously reported by the UOJ, Greek media have criticized the OCU for holding joint liturgical events with the UGCC.

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