Met. Simeon: the decisions of UOC for us, Orthodox believers, are bad
Met. Simeon didn’t sign the UOC Council’s decisions, as he doesn’t agree with some of its points. In particular, the need to repent for "those whom we call schismatics".
Metropolitan Simeon (Shostatsky) of Vinnitsa and Bar told reporters that he had not signed the decision of the UOC Bishops ’Council, which took place on November 13 at the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, because of points about the need to repent for schismatics in Ukraine, as well as breaking the Eucharistic communion with the Patriarchate of Constantinople, reports the Vinnitsa Press Club.
The metropolitan believes that the unification of Churches in Ukraine can take place without repentance, which is now being required from those “whom we call schismatics”.
“For 25 years we have not been able to cure this schism, therefore, today the Church was called through the state by the Constantinople Mother Church, which has historical experience, to heal the schism,” said Vladyka Simeon. “We have examples even in the recent past, in 2007, when, without any repentance, the act on signing the reunification united two structures — the ROC and the ROCOR.”
He also believes that the communion with the Church of Constantinople mustn’t be broken.
“This is an extreme measure,” said Vladyka Simeon, “in case there are any big dogmatic, canonical differences and violations between us. But today both dogmas and canons remain the same, no one has broken them – neither Constantinople nor we.”
He said that the decision to break the Eucharistic communion will be especially noticeable outside Ukraine, when the clergy and believers of the UOC will go to holy places and, first of all, to Athos, which is under the jurisdiction of the Constantinople Patriarchate.
Also, the metropolitan expressed the belief that the episcopate of the UOC lost much, having refused to come to a meeting with Petro Poroshenko, who was waiting for them from 14:00 to 20:00. According to him, at this meeting, they could have heard the opinion of the President about the current situation around the Ukrainian Church and ask him as the head of state all the burning questions.
“It’s no secret that the creation of the ULOC is one of the state-forming elements,” the hierarch noted. “When he (P. Poroshenko, - Ed.) was asked if it meant that they wanted to create a state church, he replied that in no case: nothing that concerns the life of the Church, its activities, canons, etc., they only want one thing – to contribute to the creation of the Local Orthodox Church.”
