Metropolitan Clement: UOC is still Ukraine's largest denomination

The head of the UOC Synodal Information and Education Department, Metropolitan Clement of Nizhyn and Priluky, said in a commentary to Strana.ua that the information of the head of the OCU that his organization has 8000 parishes does not correspond to reality.

"Regarding Epifaniy’s statements, I can only say one thing: for a serious man who claims the status of a religious figure, it is simply unseemly to deceive so ungodlily," said Metropolitan Clement.

It seems that OCU priests themselves do not believe in their long-term prospects, and therefore are in no hurry to renounce Filaret.

"The ‘statistics’ voiced by the head of the OCU have nothing to do with reality. As long as the Ukrainian Orthodox Church has existed, rumours concerning some of its global transformations have been circulating. Over its more than 30-year history, the UOC has shown that despite all the trials it has faced, it remains the largest and most consolidated religious community not only in Ukraine but also in the Orthodox world," the UOC hierarch said.

As reported in 2019, UOC-KP head Filaret Denysenko said that the "Unification Council" in which the OCU was formed was illegitimate.