Moscow Patriarchate Receives Crimean Dioceses Under Its Jurisdiction: Warns of Schism in Ukraine

St. Vladimir’s Cathedral, dedicated to the Heroes of Sevastopol (Crimean War). Pic – Wiki.

OCP News Service – 11/6/2022

Moscow-Russia: In response to the request from the Metropolitans of the dioceses of Dzhankoy, Simferopol and Feodosiya in Crimea, they have been received into the direct jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church. These dioceses were formerly under the jurisdiction of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. However, the recent war in Ukraine and the situation in Crimea have resulted in a new change. The decision was approved during the recent session of the Synod of the Russian Church.

The Synod also commented on the status of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church by stating that any changes can only be made within the framework of the canonical procedure, including the decision of the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church. Any unauthorized actions to change the status of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church may lead to the emergence of a new schism. Any discussions regarding the life of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church should take place within the canonical release and should not lead to new divisions in the Church.

Followed by the decision of the Council of Bishops of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), Metropolitan Onuphry of Kyiv and All Ukraine has refrained from commemorating Patriarch Kirill as the head of the Church during the liturgy held at Kyiv Caves Lavra on 28/5/2022. Until the declaration of independence, Patriarch Kirill was remembered as the head of the autonomous Ukrainian Orthodox Church within the Moscow Patriarchate. Instead, during the Liturgy, the Metropolitan read the names of the heads of local Churches mentioned in the diptychs as in practice by the primates of the autocephalous Orthodox Churches. Hence, Patriarch Kirill was commemorated as the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, and not as the head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

Source:
OCP News Service