Hierarch of the Church of Greece expresses deep respect for His Beatitude Onuphry and condemns persecution of the UOC

Metropolitan Seraphim of Kythira (Greek Orthodox Church) publicly expressed his deep respect for the Primate of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry. At the same time, the bishop declared his complete non-recognition of the head of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), Epiphany Dumenko, and strongly condemned the ongoing persecution of the UOC, calling it «barbarism» and «disgusting actions.»

In an interview with Vima Orthodoxias, Metropolitan Seraphim emphasized his attitude towards the Primate of the UOC: «We deeply respect him, and I commemorate him with all my heart.»

Commenting on the situation with the persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Seraphim expressed his deep sorrow, noting: «When I learn about this, my soul suffers, and the heart of every Orthodox person suffers. This is barbarism, these are disgusting actions. They are not Christians. They are not people. They are nothing at all, those who treat the Orthodox so cruelly, the Orthodox Canonical Church of Ukraine under the leadership of His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry.» He also called on God to put an end to the «terrible drama of the Ukrainian people.»

Metropolitan Seraphim’s position on the head of the OCU Epiphany Dumenko remains unchanged and categorical. «I personally do not commemorate Epiphany. I think many people do not commemorate him. He was included in the diptychs, but I personally do not accept this,» the bishop said. Moreover, the Metropolitan of Kythira emphasized that he does not communicate and will not concelebrate with those who concelebrated with Epiphany, considering it non-canonical.

Earlier we reported that the hierarch of the Greek Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Seraphim of Kythira and Antikythera , criticized the joint celebrations with Roman Catholics of the 1700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council, which took place in Turkey at the end of November 2025 under the auspices of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. The bishop noted that only one of the Primates of the Local Orthodox Churches was present at the celebration, apart from Patriarch Bartholomew, precisely because Pope Leo XIV attended the event. In addition, Metropolitan Seraphim stated that it was inappropriate to sign a declaration of cooperation between the Patriarch of Constantinople and the Pope, given the significant contradictions in Orthodox and Catholic theology.