ROC Priest: I am against divisions but autocephaly could help the UOC

If the Ukrainian Orthodox Church received autocephaly in a canonical way, this would contribute to silence and peace in the country. This was stated by ROC cleric Archpriest Pavel Ostrovsky during a dialogue with Archpriest Maximian Pogorelovsky, head of the Missionary Department of the Odessa Eparchy of the UOC.

The priest of the ROC noted that all divisions in the Church are driven by an evil force rather than by the Holy Spirit: "The devil has been working from the very beginning of the Church to put into practice the 'divide and rule' principle". He noted that Orthodoxy is now divided into 15 Local Churches, which is not too many, but even with this number, it is difficult for its representatives to come together. And if there were more of them, the catholicity of the Church would begin to break down.

“The very essence of the word 'Church' is in the assembly. As for me, I would unite, rather than divide it. But if we approach the issue of the Local Church in Ukraine (my personal opinion), then taking into account the number of dioceses, parishes, and believers, taking into account those spiritual traditions that exist in Ukraine, taking into account history that is not even connected with the Russian Empire, taking into account recent events (the ongoing war), then if I were sent to the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church, I would undoubtedly vote for the autocephaly of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church,” Father Pavel said.

The priest believes that autocephaly would contribute to the unification of the Orthodox themselves within Ukraine.

“I think if the UOC were autocephalous, if it received full-fledged autocephaly in a canonical way, then many of the OCU would begin to transfer there,” the priest noted.

As the UOJ reported, Archpriest Pavel Ostrovsky said that it is unacceptable to speak insultingly about the Ukrainian people.