His Beatitude Metropolitan Volodymyr’s report at the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church themed “Ukrainian Orthodox Church Today
10/2/2011
Ukrainian Orthodox Church Today
The report at the Bishops’ Council of the ROC
(January 2-4 2011 Moscow)
His Beatitude, the Most Blessed Volodymyr, Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine, Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church
In the past year it was 20 years since His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II signed the blessed certificate – Tomos of granting the UOC of the autonomy and independence of governance. This event opened a new historical stage in the life of the Orthodox Church in Ukraine, which has restored the original tradition of the canonical being of the Church of Kyivan Rus
On 27 October 1990 the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church adopted a definition of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which granted to our Church the autonomy of governance. The same day Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Alexy II signed a charter, which blessed “the Orthodox Ukrainian Church to be henceforth independent and autonomous in its governance” .
In 2000, the Jubilee Bishops’ Council adopted the new Statute of the Russian Orthodox Church, in which the special status of the Orthodox Church in Ukraine is fixed. Paragraph 18 of the eighth chapter of the Statute states: The Ukrainian Orthodox Church shall be self-governing with the broad right of autonomy.
In its life and activity it shall be guided by the Tomos of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia of 1990 and by the Statute of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church confirmed by its Primate and approved by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia.” The Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church in 2009 elected Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill, approved the decisions of the Councils of Bishops, held from 1990 to 2008. Thus, all the definitions concerning the Ukrainian Orthodox Church obtained the all-church reception.
Today, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church performs its God-commanded mission according to the Word of God, guided by the provisions of ecclesiastical law.
Statistics
At present the Ukrainian Orthodox Church consists of 45 dioceses. The episcopate of our Church comprises 70 bishops (45 ruling bishops, 19 vicar bishops, 6 retired bishops/ 13 metropolitans, 25 archbishops and 32 bishops).
The Ukrainian Orthodox Church today consists of more than 11,000 parishes, where more than 10,000 clergymen perform their pastoral ministry. In the Ukrainian Orthodox Church there are 205 monasteries (107 men’s and 98 women’s). The total number of residents of the monasteries is more than 5,000 people.
In the territory of Ukraine today are functioning the Theological Academy (Kyiv), the Theological Academy (Uzhgorod), 7 seminaries, and 13 religious schools. 66 church newspapers and 24 magazines are published. 230 Church Internet publications are run, and 22 orthodox television programs are broadcast on the regular basis.
Patriarch’s visits to Ukraine
In the two years past since the Bishops’ and the Local Councils of the Russian Orthodox Church in 2009, in the life of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church there have been many important events. First of all, this period was marked by visits to Ukraine of Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia.Within the two years of his primate’s ministry His Holiness visited Ukraine four times.
In summer 2009, during ten days of his stay in Ukraine, His Holiness visited Kyiv and Donetsk, Horlivka, Crimea, Rivne, Lutsk, Volodymyr-Volynskyi and Ternopil dioceses of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. His Holiness celebrated the Divine Liturgy in all three of his Lavras, located in the territory of Ukraine: the Kiev-Caves Lavra, Svyatogorsk and Pochayiv Lavras. The worship broadcasts, speech of His Holiness the Patriarch live on air, his meetings with social, political and cultural figures became one of the most striking events in the life of Ukraine in 2009.
In 2010, His Holiness visited our Church three times. By tradition, he was visiting Ukraine on the commemoration of the Holy Prince Vladimir, His Holiness visited Kyiv and in Odessa and Dnipropetrovsk dioceses. In addition to the sermons, the visit was marked by meetings with intellectuals, workers of one of the largest industrial enterprises, students and youth. Many thousands of worshippers had an opportunity to pray together with the Patriarch and to listen to his archpastoral word. It is in this prayer and the Eucharist communion lies the most important spiritual value of the Patriarch’s visitations to Ukraine.
Personally for me the great joy and consolation was the presence of His Holiness the Patriarch, as well as representatives of all Orthodox Churches, many bishops and pastors from Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, Moldova and other countries to celebrate our 75th anniversary. The joint prayer at the throne of God became for me an important spiritual holdfast in performing the metropolitan’s ministry on the ancient see of Kyiv – the mother of the Russian cities. I take this opportunity to express my sincere heartfelt gratitude not only to those who personally come to Kiev for the celebration in November 2010, but also those who sent us their congratulations, full of warm words of the true Christian love.
The Church and the Ukrainian State
The most important political event in the life of Ukraine in 2010 was the president’s election. Viktor Yanukovych was elected the new head of the Ukrainian state. Before the inauguration, he visited the Kiyv-Pechersk Lavra, where a thanksgiving service was held, presided over by His Holiness.
During 2010 the Ukrainian Orthodox Church was establishing constructive relationship with the current government. The state heads participate in the worship on the days of great religious and national holidays.
At the level of government ministries and agencies and the Synodal departments of the UOC the working meetings were held to promote cooperation between the church and the state in the matter of service to the people with the purpose of implementation of the enlightenment, educational, charitable and social projects.
Several times we addressed representatives of public authorities with a request to consider the position of the Orthodox believers in the various problematic issues, such as adoption of the new Tax Code of Ukraine, introduction of juvenile justice in Ukraine, as well as on the issue of legalizing gambling business in Ukraine. The state holds our position in respect and promises to take it into account when making decisions on those issues.
All this suggests that the church-state relations in Ukraine develop and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church has a possibility to conduct and conducts a constructive dialogue with the government.
Church life, social and charitable activities
The main event in 2010 was the actual beginning of construction in Kyiv of the Resurrection Cathedral of the UOC and the religious educational center of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. We hope that with God’s help we will be able to complete the construction by 2015 and the Church will finally get the so much required infrastructure to carry out its salvific ministry in the modern society. We ask for your prayers for the success of this important matter for our Church.
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Today, our church is implementing a set of educational, charitable and social projects. It’s enough to say that today the Ukrainian Orthodox Church has 22 Synodal institutions (committees, departments, commissions and missions), which are engaged in the development and coordination of the church ministry in various directions.
One of the most notable new social projects of the past year was the charity fair with educational missionary program “From St.Nicholas to Nativity”, which was held during almost a month in the central square of the capital – Maidan Nezalezhnosti square.
The Ukrainian Orthodox Church, led by the Holy Spirit comprehensively performs its mission in the Ukrainian society.
Church schisms in Ukraine
The schism of the Ukrainian Orthodoxy remains the main pain of our heart and an unhealed wound in the body of the whole Church of Christ. The unity of the Russian Orthodox Church was preserved during the years of political instability. During the years of service in the office of the Metropolitan of Kyiv we kept the internal unity of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, and greatly multiplied the number of its parishes and monasteries. But alas, we have not yet managed to achieve any significant progress in healing of the church divisions that emerged during the turbulent 90-ies of the twentieth century. Unfortunately, even today, nearly 5,000 parishes (which is hundreds of thousands if not millions of our brothers and sisters) are outside the salutary womb of the canonical Orthodoxy in the non-canonical structures: the so-called “Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate” (UOC-KP) and the “Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church” (UAOC). In 2010, there was an encouraging tendency of returning to the flock of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of individual parishes and clergymen, but it cannot solve the problem of splits in general.
The problem of church divisions in Ukraine became a subject of much discussion within the Commission of Inter-Council Presence of the Russian Orthodox Church on opposing and overcoming church schisms. At the committee meetings the important discussions were held that revealed the complexity of the problems and different approaches to the healing of schism. The commission members carefully studied the experience of other Local Churches in overcoming church divisions, and considered the canonical and historical aspects of this problem. The commission members expressed different views on the prospect of healing the schism in Ukraine. The first fruits of our work were presented to the Presidium of Inter-Council Presence. Nevertheless, today it is early to speak of some practical results of our work. But what the Church expects from us is not just profound study, but actual proposals and actions to achieve results -the restoration of unity of the Ukrainian Orthodoxy.
Today, on this occasion, I want to address you, Your Holiness, and all our fellow bishops with a request to intensify their prayers for the unity of the Russian Church and healing of the church schism in Ukraine. This is our common pain and common task.
Prospects for 2011
In 2011 in Ukraine the 1000th anniversary of St. Sophia will be celebrated at the state level – the ancient Cathedral of the Kyivan Metropolitans, as well as the 450th anniversary of the Peresopnytsia Gospels, on which now the president of independent Ukraine take their oath. In April we will celebrate the 25th anniversary of a tragic date – the explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Orthodox Ukraine is waiting for the next visit of His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, Kirill as an opportunity to show our brotherly love and unity in Jesus Christ.
More detail about the life and activities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, with information about our achievements and challenges one can learn from the records of the Synodal departments and commissions issued annually in print, and posted on the official website of our church online.
Snaps: http://www.fotolitopys.in.ua
