UOC Holy Synod publishes an official position on SLC
On May 25, at a meeting of the Holy Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, an address was adopted to the Episcopate, the clergy, monastics and laity regarding the SLC.
The hierarchs formalized an opinion of the canonical Church relating to the initiatives on “granting a Tomos of autocephaly to the Orthodox Church in Ukraine”, reports the Information and Education Department of the UOC.
The full text of the document can be read below.
APPEAL
Of the Holy Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church
To the episcopate, the clergy, monastics and laity regarding the initiatives on "granting Tomos of autocephaly to the Orthodox Church in Ukraine."
Your Graces and Eminences!
Dear clergymen, monks and nuns, brothers and sisters!
In recent weeks, a possibility of the unilateral bestowal of the "Tomos of autocephaly to the Orthodox Church in Ukraine" by the Patriarchate of Constantinople has been briskly discussed in our country.
The Ukrainian Orthodox Church has not received any official reports from the Patriarchate of Constantinople on this issue. At the same time, we know that the Local Orthodox Churches of the world have not received either any official letters from Constantinople concerning this matter.
At the request of the Primates of Local Orthodox Churches, His Beatitude Metropolitan of Kiev and All Ukraine Onufry addressed them with letters informing of the current situation in Ukrainian Orthodoxy, and also outlined an attitude of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church towards the initiatives on granting "Tomos of autocephaly." Today the Primates and Councils of Bishops of the Local Orthodox Churches are known to express a wary and negative attitude towards the aforementioned Tomos as a means of overcoming schism in the Ukrainian Orthodoxy. In particular, among the Local Churches there is a shared opinion about the need to get the schismatic church groups to return to the fold of the canonical Church, which will further allow discussing an issue of the status of a single canonical Church.
This position of the Local Orthodox Churches of the world coincides with the position of our Church. Since the beginning of the split, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church has consistently advocated the restoration of church unity. However, in our deep conviction, the path to the restoration of church unity and to a possible autocephalous status should not go through the legalization of the split and its replacement of the Church of Christ. In particular, in the Decree of the Anniversary Council of the UOC, which took place in the Holy Assumption Kiev-Pechersk Lavra on July 8, 2011, it was noted that "... the restoration of the unity of Ukrainian Orthodoxy must be implemented according to the canons of the Orthodox Church, without interference of political forces and through the return of those, who have departed, into the bosom of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church" (Para. 11).
The main criterion by the adoption of all ecclesiastic decisions is how it benefits the Church, while the method for making such decisions lies in the conciliar discussion of important and relevant issues both for an individual Local Orthodox Church and the entire world Orthodoxy. Any single-sided or one-sided actions within the Church cause a violation of the conciliarity principle and thus threaten the unity of the Church.
From the contemporary history of the Orthodox Church in Ukraine, it can be inferred that the violation of the conciliarity principle, the lack of a sense of the pulse of true inner church life, and the interference of political and other non-ecclesiastic forces in the internal affairs of the Church actually led to a split in Ukrainian Orthodoxy.
Deliberations on the bestowing of autocephalous status to the Orthodox Church in Ukraine have been going on for almost 100 years. However, for all this time, all initiatives in this direction lacked the spirit of conciliarity and observance of ecclesiastic rules, which led to the arbitrary formation of non-canonical structures: first, the “Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church”, and then the “Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate”.
Consequently, historical experience indicates that the absence of canonical consciousness and obedience to the Church, the absence of a conciliar discussion of important church issues, the lack of patience and mutual understanding, pride, as well as the interference of political factors in church matters lead only to splits rather than the church unity. Therefore, it is an erroneous path which the Church of Christ should not go.
The history of the Church testifies that those attempts of unity that were conducted "from above" were often not perceived by the church people, because they had political rationale and did not take into account the peculiarities of the internal church life. After such "unifications" on the initiative and with active participation of state power, temples grew deserted, because the faithful felt such "unifications" were artificial. Intervention in this process by forces alien to the Church can divide our people even more, and we can reach an even greater separation instead of the desirable unity.
The autocephalous status has a purely technical ecclesiastical character, which consists in facilitating the preaching of the gospel in the territory of a separate state, and cannot serve as an instrument in the geopolitical struggle. At the same time, autocephalous status is granted to the whole Church within a certain territory. In this regard, it is necessary to realize that the emergence of another parallel jurisdiction in Ukraine can engender new confrontations within our nation, and will not only threaten the security of the state, but will also call into question the possibility of a future unity of the Church in Ukraine. Our people can be divided for a long time, if not forever.
The way out of this situation is seen in the restoration of church unity in Ukraine, but not in securing the church separation by establishing parallel ecclesiastical jurisdiction. We share the concern of the state authorities of Ukraine about the existence of a church split in our country. However, we believe that other conditions, in particular peace and stability in our country, are crucial to successfully resolve this problem. We have always been and will continue to contribute to the State in matters of moral and patriotic upbringing, but we oppose the use of the Church in the geopolitical struggle. We affirm our openness and readiness for any constructive cooperation and dialogue in order to achieve church unity.
Dear bishops, fathers, monks and nuns, brothers and sisters,
Faithful children of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church!
We call upon all of you to bear in mind that we are all members of the Church, which is the Body of Christ (Ephesians 1: 22-23). We are all different, but belong to the same family of Christ – the Holy Church. We are all responsible for the unity of the Church, and this unity must be cherished and upheld. We should not forget that the Church was created not by people, but by God. The cornerstone of all church life is the Lord and our God Jesus Christ. The mission of the Church of Christ is to preach the Gospel of Christ, to perform the blessed transformation of the world through the Holy Sacraments, teaching people to live according to God's commandments. That is why the Church of Christ lives by its own rules, which cannot be changed, given the changing political situation. The only way to restore church unity is to stop any external interference into church affairs and allow the Holy Church to independently, with God's help, heal the wound of the division of Ukrainian Orthodoxy.
Every generation of Orthodox Christians is accountable for maintaining the purity of their faith and observing the church canonical order. Today this responsibility lies with all of us – archpastors, pastors, monks and all the faithful church people.
We call upon all of you, dear bishops, priests, honest monks, brothers and sisters, to "the unity of spirit in the union of peace" (Eph. 4: 3), to the preservation and maintenance of church unity. We are members of the Church of Christ and must always remain in her fold.
May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of us (see 2 Cor. 13:13)!
On behalf of the Holy Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church
+ ONUFRY,
METROPOLITAN OF KIEV AND ALL UKRAINE,
PRIMATE OF THE UKRAINIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH
