UOC Speaker: We sent document on independence from ROC to DESS back in 2022

Metropolitan Clement. Photo: Nizhyn Eparchy's Facebook page

The head of the UOC Synodal Information and Education Department, Metropolitan Clement, commented for DW on the directive from the State Service for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience (DESS) with demands for the UOC to break ties with Moscow.

He stated that the authorities' accusations of ties with the ROC are unfounded, as the UOC's Statute, which was updated after the Council in Feofania, does not provide for any connections with religious centers outside Ukraine. According to Metropolitan Clement, the Statute clearly confirms the complete independence of the UOC.

The archbishop emphasizes that the Statute was sent to DESS in May 2022.

"The Statute does not provide for any connections with any religious centers,» emphasized Metropolitan Clement. "Instead, Mr. Yelensky makes statements that he does not believe that the UOC has severed ties with Russia. This is, to say the least, strange. Because the Statute is not a matter of faith. It is a document that officials should read and apply, not 'believe' in it."

The bishop also emphasized that the "investigation" by GESS about the allegedly ties of the UOC with the ROC is a fictitious document.

He pointed out that among its authors there are no specialists who understand such concepts as "spiritual ties", "grace", or "canons of the Ecumenical Councils" since Ukrainian legislation does not operate with such terms. "The sent directive is fictitious. It cannot be the subject of a legal dispute or accepted for processing," stated Metropolitan Clement.

Earlier, the UOJ wrote that, according to Yelensky, the UOC does not need to appeal to Moscow to break ties with it.

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