Met Theodosiy: Autocephaly for UOC today is not relevant for two reasons

Podcast featuring Metropolitan Theodosiy. Photo: Vinnytsia Eparchy

On October 6, 2025, Metropolitan Theodosiy of Cherkasy and Kaniv gave a two-hour interview to Fr. Roman Makar from Vinnytsia, during which he outlined his position regarding the possibility of an autocephalous status for the UOC.

Metropolitan Theodosiy identified two essential conditions that must be met before the question of autocephaly can even be discussed in any local Church: “The first is peacetime. The second is the maturity or readiness of the Church to receive autocephaly,” said the hierarch.

According to him, “premature autocephalies of national Churches sometimes lead to failures.”

“Likewise, large Churches that do not have an adequate status within the Orthodox world perhaps do not bring as much benefit as they could if they were granted the greater rights they deserve,” the metropolitan noted.

When asked directly whether autocephaly is evil in itself, the hierarch replied: “Autocephaly in itself is not evil, but there must be certain conditions that must be fulfilled in order for it to be achieved.”

However, Metropolitan Theodosiy emphasized that he does not consider obtaining autocephaly a goal: “Not everyone is preoccupied with the idea of gaining autocephaly. Personally, I am not. I think many others aren’t either. Therefore, I cannot imagine what precedents in history one could look for to resolve a question that, in my opinion, is entirely untimely – and perhaps will never be timely at all.”

The hierarch stressed that in wartime, any discussion of autocephaly is purely theoretical: “To seriously reflect on this topic during wartime is mostly an intellectual exercise and, to my mind, has no practical application.”

When asked about possible ways for the UOC to emerge from its current crisis, Metropolitan Theodosiy replied: “Everything depends so much on how this war unfolds that any speculation is simply meaningless. We do not know how the war will end. We can speak seriously about the prospects of the UOC’s relations with the state, or about the internal life of the Church, only when it is all over.”

“Then we will have to rethink many things, make decisions, choose new directions. Perhaps, for some, the issue of autocephaly will remain desirable and may be addressed then. But now, it is strange even to talk about it,” the hierarch said.

At the end of the conversation, Metropolitan Theodosiy called for patience: “Now is the time when we must simply mobilize ourselves and endure it – to persevere and give future generations the chance to live normal church life.”

Earlier, the UOJ reported that Fr. Roman Makar had hosted a podcast on the topic of autocephaly with Archbishop Sylvester of Bilohorodka.

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