UOC holds seminar on canon law in Kyiv

Some participants joined the UOC seminar on canon law online. Photo: Nizhyn Eparchy

A seminar devoted to the teaching of canon law in the theological schools of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church was held at the Kyiv Theological Academy on October 21, 2025, with the blessing of His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry. The event formed part of the 17th International Academic and Practical Conference “Spiritual and Secular Education: History of Relations – Present – Prospects,” the Nizhyn Eparchy reported.

The seminar was chaired by Metropolitan Clement of Nizhyn and Pryluky, head of the UOC Educational Committee under the Holy Synod. The discussion involved professors from the Kyiv Theological Schools as well as seminaries from Volyn, Odesa, Poltava, Pochaiv, Sumy, and Kharkiv, with some participants joining online.

In his opening address, Metropolitan Clement emphasized that the teaching of canon law today requires particular care, since the depth and accuracy of this discipline are crucial for the formation of future pastors. He noted that the Church faces new challenges, and therefore it is important to seek a living, comprehensible, and tradition-based approach to instruction.

Assoc. Prof. Oleh Nad, head of the Department of Church-Practical Disciplines at the Kyiv Theological Academy, delivered a report on the history of canon law teaching, outlined current difficulties, and proposed possible solutions.

The participants discussed the idea of creating a new Ukrainian-language textbook on canon law tailored to the modern needs of theological schools.

In conclusion, the educators stressed the importance of such seminars, which make it possible to combine efforts, exchange experience, and strengthen a common understanding of Church canons within the framework of contemporary theological education.

As previously reported by the UOJ, an international conference dedicated to the Nicene Council was recently held in Kyiv.

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