OCU claims that its missions in Poland are agreed with Patriarch of Constantinople

Serhiy Sirenko, a cleric of the OCU in Warsaw, said that the presence of his organization in Poland, presented as a «chaplaincy mission,» was agreed with Patriarch Bartholomew. He also sharply criticized the Polish Autocephalous Orthodox Church (PAOC) for refusing to recognize the OCU and accused its clergy of pro-Russian sympathies, which creates tension between the two Orthodox jurisdictions. According to him, although the Tomos of the OCU does not provide for the opening of parishes outside Ukraine, the situation has changed dramatically after the full-scale invasion of Russia. He spoke about this in an interview with Dzerkalo Tyzhnia.

Sirenko emphasized that many Ukrainian refugees who found themselves abroad «did not always want to go to the local Orthodox Church and were actually left without spiritual care.» In response to this need, the OCU, contrary to the initial provisions of the Tomos, began organizing its parishes abroad, calling them «chaplaincy missions.» The cleric emphasized that this presence of the OCU in Poland, as well as in other countries, was«agreed with the Ecumenical Patriarch.»

«We are not a parish, we are a chaplaincy mission that provides spiritual care to the faithful of the OCU abroad. Such missions operate in many Polish cities, as well as in Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, the Baltic States, etc. But most of the missions operate in Poland,» explained Sirenko, adding that the presence of the OCU in Poland will continue after the end of hostilities in Ukraine.

Commenting on the future of the missions, Serhiy Sirenko noted that although the missions are currently working until the end of the war, «some of the OCU believers will remain abroad.» He expressed the opinion that in case the OCU is recognized by the Polish Autocephalous Orthodox Church, the existing missions could be transformed into parishes and transferred to the jurisdiction of the OCU. However, if the OCU continues to deny recognition, the OCU will not leave its faithful without spiritual support.

In addition to justifying the actions of the OCU, Sirenko harshly criticized the Polish Church, accusing it of refusing to «make contact» and of carrying out allegedly pro-Russian activities. «Pro-Russian sentiments prevail among the majority of the clergy of the PAOC, and one can hear them preaching the ‘Russian world’, which is absolutely unacceptable for Ukrainian believers,» the cleric said.

Earlier, the Primate of the Polish Autocephalous Orthodox Church sent a complaint to Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople related to the invasion of the OCU into the canonical territory of the PAOC. The protest is related to the creation of so-called chaplaincy missions by the OCU in Poland, under the guise of which Ukrainian schismatics open full-fledged parishes.