UOC-KP TO ASK THE ECUMENICAL PATRIARCH TO RECOGNIZE THEIR AUTOCEPHALOUS STATUS
http://www.ukrainebusiness.com.ua/
August 2015 – http://risu.org.ua/
Hierarchs of the Ukrainian Orthodox Cchurch -Kyiv Patriarchate, who assembledon July 27 in the session of the Holy Synod in Kyiv, officially announced the termination of the dialogue on unification with the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church. They put the entire blame for the failure of negotiations on the UAOC.
This is stated in the decisions of the Holy Synod of the UOC-KP (Journal 26).
Expressing gratitude to the Ecumenical Patriarch and Orthodox bishops from the diaspora, who monitored the course of the dialogue between the two Churches, the Kyiv Patriarchate hierarchs note that the dialogue with the UAOC breaks up already for the fifth time in 20 years and “that in fact the UAOC hierarchs do not want to unite and do everything possible in order it did not happen.”
The Holy Synod participants also note that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Kyiv Patriarchate was established in June 1992 due to the merger of UAOC under the omophorion of Patriarch Mstyslav and of the UOC and under the omophorion of Metropolitan (now Patriarch) Filaret.
“Therefore now it is the only true historical and legal successor of both Churches,” the UOC-KP hierarchs claim.
“The Church, which is now called the “Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church,” is a new entity that emerged under the influence of external anti-Ukrainian forces in 1992-93,throughself-willed separationof several bishops, clergy and laity from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church Kyiv Patriarchate.
The current UAOC hierarchy (except one hierarch) also consists of former bishops (three) and priests (the rest of them) of the UOC Kyiv Patriarchate, who left the Kyiv Patriarchate.
The current UAOC has less than 600 actually operating parishes concentrated mainly in Galicia, and according to opinion polls, is supported less than by 1.5% of the population of Ukraine.
These facts, as well as the consistent thwarting by the leadership of UAOC of all five attempts to overcome the existing division attest to futility and pointlessness of any further attempts of dialogue with the UAOC hierarchy. In this connection we have to deem completed the dialogue on unification with the UAOC,” the Kyiv Patriarchate hierarchy claim.
