UOC Chancellor Warns Against Politicized Autocephaly

Metropolitan Antony of Boryspil and Brovary and Chancellor of the UOC
Pic : Facebook

Union of Orthodox Journalists(UOJ) – OCP News Service – 03/10/2025

Kyiv – Ukraine: Metropolitan Antony of Boryspil and Brovary, Chancellor of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), has cautioned that autocephaly pursued on political or nationalistic grounds can harm the unity and spiritual life of the Church. The hierarch shared his reflections in a recent post on his official Facebook page.

Metropolitan Antony explained that while autocephaly may serve as a pastoral solution to meet the needs of the faithful, it should not be regarded as an end in itself. When driven by state influence or nationalist ideology, he noted, autocephaly risks leading to schism, loss of Eucharistic communion with other Local Churches, and the replacement of Orthodox identity with ethnophyletism.

He also recalled historical examples, including the Bulgarian Exarchate and the Macedonian Church, where politically motivated separations caused long-standing divisions within the Orthodox world.

The Chancellor stressed that genuine ecclesial unity must remain rooted in conciliarity and Eucharistic communion, and warned that autocephaly sought under external pressure ceases to be a blessing and instead becomes a danger to the Church.

Source:

OCP News Service