Russia Orthodox Church ready to accept “dissents” after Penitence

26-07-2010

The Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church led by Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, currently on a pastoral visit to Ukraine, at Monday’s meeting at Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra has reminded the Ukrainian “dissents” [the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate – ed.] about a possibility of returning to the “canonic church” through penitence, the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church said in a special statement on Monday.

The statement says “The door to the church is open, we are ready to meet everyone who returns under its cover”. The theme of “the church split”, under the Russian Orthodox Church terminology, has become one of the key issues in the Holy Synod agenda. The Kyiv Patriarchate that the Russian Orthodox Church still considers as non-canonical has not yet officially responded to the call of the Russian Orthodox Church, from which the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate separated in 1992. However, a few days ago Bishop Yevstratiy, head of the Information and Publishing Department of the Kyiv Patriarchate, said that for his visit to Ukraine the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill chose an information policy that should persuade the believers that the lack of a constructive dialogue between the Moscow Patriarchate and the “dissents” is due to “malignancy and aggressiveness” of the latter.

It is about a decision taken on September 9, 2009 by the Holy Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church headed by Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine Volodymyr (Sabodan) to launch a dialogue with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate in order to restore unity of Ukrainian Orthodoxy, which then was supported by the Kyiv Patriarchate. Moreover, last October a meeting of working groups was held to prepare for the dialogue.

“Unfortunately, at present the process has slowed down, though we hope that it will revive soon,” Bishop Yevstratiy said. Instead, calls to terminate the registration of the UOC Kyiv Patriarchate were broadcast when Patriarch Kirill visited Odesa last week. Bishop Yevstratiy called such claims legally deficient. “There is no legal way to withdraw our church from registration, and to terminate its registration illegally means to challenge not only our church, but the entire religious community, because every small denomination may ponder: what if its registration will be terminated tomorrow?” said Bishop Yevstratiy.

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