ROC Synod transfers Rovenki Eparchy to "direct subordination to Patriarch"

On 13 October 2022, the Synod of the Russian Church transferred the Rovenki Eparchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church to "direct canonical and administrative subordination" to Patriarch Kirill, reports patriarchia.ru.

It is reported that "the eparchial bishop and the eparchial council of the Rovenki Eparchy” appealed to the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Holy Synod “with a request to transfer the eparchy entrusted to him to the direct authority of His Holiness the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia and the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church".

The text says that this decision was made in accordance with the decisions of the Council of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of 27 May 2022: "The Council of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church granted eparchial bishops ‘the right to make independent decisions on various matters of the eparchy’s life within the jurisdiction of the Holy Synod or the Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, with subsequent, if possible, informing the clergy" (paragraph 7 of the Council Decree).

The decision states that the "transfer" of the eparchy is allegedly "based on the need to maintain an effective canonical and administrative connection to the central church authority for the smooth flow of church life" and also "given the practical impossibility of regular communication of this eparchy with the Metropolis of Kyiv”.

As reported, the Russian Orthodox Synod transferred the Crimean eparchies of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church "to direct subordination to the Patriarch".

Read also