Dumenko: Churches not recognizing OCU do not deny its autocephaly
Dumenko claimed that Local Orthodox Churches have not established full relations with the OCU because of the Russian Orthodox Church’s influence over the Orthodox world.
OCU head Epifaniy Dumenko said that the Local Orthodox Churches that have yet to recognize his organization do not actually reject its autocephaly as such, but are merely waiting for the war to end and the Russian Orthodox Church’s influence to weaken.
Dumenko outlined his view of the OCU’s recognition during the international Forum 2000 conference in Prague, responding to questions from participants in a panel discussion.
“This is not really a religious issue. None of the Churches, except the Moscow Patriarchate itself, severed relations with the Ecumenical Patriarchate after the OCU was granted the Tomos of Autocephaly. This means they do not reject our autocephaly as such, but have certain conditions that must be met before they establish official communion with us.”
Dumenko expressed confidence that all Local Orthodox Churches that have not yet taken a position will eventually establish full relations with the OCU. In his view, this will happen once the “influence and pressure of the Russian Orthodox Church on the Orthodox world” diminish.
As the UOJ previously reported, Dumenko predicted the breakup of the Russian Federation and the Russian Church’s eventual recognition of the OCU.
