Chancellor on DESS orders: There are no answers as the verdict is already set

Metropolitan Anthony. Photo: Metropolitan's Facebook

Metropolitan Anthony, Chancellor of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, commented on the directive issued by the State Service for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience (DESS) to the Kyiv Metropolia, published on July 17, 2025.

The metropolitan noted that the Church is supposedly required to correct certain violations identified by an expert commission in its Charter.

However, in his view, the directive "sounds like an ultimatum, and any response will be deemed incorrect."

"It seems the verdict has already been prepared. Overall, we are witnessing a scripted scenario, and no one is truly concerned about the Church's Charter," he added.

His Eminence recalled that earlier there was a court case opened against members of the Synod, followed by the revocation of the Primate’s citizenship, and now the issuance of this ultimatum-like directive.

"The goal of all these actions is the same: to ban our Church. There are two possible options – either in full or in parts," the Chancellor of the UOC stated.

In this situation, he said, "clergy and bishops have a reason to live – for you, the faithful. And we have a reason to suffer – for the truth, for the Tradition, for the canons of the Church. And we have something worth dying for – for Christ, for it is in Christ that the true life of a believer is revealed."

He called for courageously accepting all that the Lord sends, and not crossing the final line so as not to end up entirely outside the canonical field. He advised the faithful to be watchful and discerning – to attend services, confess, and receive Communion only where the grace of God is present.

"Faith and God are not to be trifled with. God established the Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And even if, in earthly terms, it seems like the end and there is no future, if a person clings to the foundations of the faith, the canons, and the dogmas of the Church, then the Lord will find a way to resurrect the Church and will not let Her desecration," the UOC hierarch affirmed.

Metropolitan Anthony also stated that the UOC will use every legal tool available to defend the Church in the judicial field. However, he emphasized, the Church’s main hope and trust remain in the Triune God.

Earlier, the UOJ analyzed the content of the DESS's directive and whether the UOC is even able to comply with it.

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