OCU religious scholar urges Epifaniy to violate Tomos
Oleksandr Brodetsky believes the OCU should establish parishes and eparchies abroad in defiance of the Tomos and respond to objections from the Phanar by offering to "discuss" the matter.
Oleksandr Brodetsky, a Chernivtsi-based religious scholar affiliated with the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) who holds a doctorate in philosophy, has urged OCU head Epifaniy Dumenko to "overcome his fear" and begin establishing parishes and eparchies outside Ukraine despite the prohibition contained in the Tomos of autocephaly. He made the appeal in a post on his Facebook page.
"Some things are not asked for – they are taken," the religious scholar wrote.
Brodetsky believes the OCU needs to "strengthen its standing as an independent actor" and "mature at a rate of ten years for every one," warning that otherwise it has "no chance of staying afloat."
If the Ecumenical Patriarchate objects, Brodetsky suggests responding to the Phanar as follows: "Well, let's discuss it! Other Churches have similar practices, so we've decided to do the same. Are you opposed, Your All-Holiness? If so, we invite you to a discussion!"
At the same time, he argues, the OCU should continue establishing its presence abroad regardless of the outcome of such discussions.
"No one is going to revoke the Tomos of autocephaly now. The debate will go on for decades, while OCU parishes will continue to spring up around the world," the religious scholar said.
He added that such actions would not violate "anything truly sacred" and that history would "thank" Epifaniy – but only if he dared to take this step.
The OCU's Tomos explicitly prohibits it from "appointing bishops or founding parishes outside the state," since its jurisdiction is limited to Ukrainian territory, while the Ukrainian diaspora falls under the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Throne. The same provision is enshrined in Article I.4 of the OCU Statute.
As the UOJ previously reported, the OCU had encroached on the canonical territory of the Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia.
