Consultations of Local Churches on the religious situation in Ukraine begin

Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. Photo: Efrem Lukatsky/AP/dpa/picture alliance)

The Serbian publication Zhurnal reports that consultations of the Local Orthodox Churches regarding the ecclesiastical order of Ukraine have begun.

A key aspect of these consultations is the participation of representatives from the Phanar and the Russian Orthodox Church.

The meeting of Constantinople representatives took place before Trump’s victory in the U.S. presidential election was announced, but in anticipation of it. Sources indicate that during the meeting, the Phanar reps questioned the figure of Epifaniy Dumenko as the leader of the OCU, though they remained steadfast on the issue of church autocephaly.

The Zhurnal article claims that Mike Pompeo, former Secretary of State under President-elect Donald Trump, played a crucial role in the formation and establishment of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU). However, Tucker Carlson and Vice President Vance have pointed to the violation of fundamental freedoms of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), led by Metropolitan Onuphry.

Religious freedom is expected to once again become a priority for the next Trump-led administration.

The Serbian Orthodox Church has taken on the role of mediator in these consultations among the Local Churches. During a meeting yesterday between Patriarch Porfirije and the Ukrainian ambassador to Belgrade, it was officially stated that the Serbian Orthodox Church maintains its position that a canonical approach should be applied to resolve the church issue in Ukraine, which was not done in due time.

Previously, the UOJ reported that Metropolitan Luke proposed strengthening and expanding "Amman format".

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