Archbishop Silvester: Internal discussions on the future and canonical status of the UOC do not mean schism

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) is actively discussing its canonical status and vectors for further development. According to Archbishop Sylvester (Stoychev), a hierarch of the UOC and rector of the Kiev Theological Seminary and Academy, these internal discussions do not indicate a split, but are a normal phenomenon for any local church and a sign of increased interest among believers and clergy. He said this in an interview with the Serbian publication VREME.

According to Archbishop Sylvester, the presence of different ideological currents and groups among bishops, clergy, monks and laity is a normal situation. In the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, internal discussions have always taken place — both in the time of the blessedly departed Metropolitan Volodymyr and under the current Primate, Metropolitan Onuphrius. The Archbishop emphasized the importance of the fact that supporters of different positions have the opportunity to openly express their opinions.

Recently, in the fall of 2025, there was a public discussion in the UOC regarding the canonical status of the Church and its future directions of development. Bishops actively shared their views in interviews, texts and social media. In the course of this polemic, according to Archbishop Sylvester, the existence of very different views on the future of the UOC became evident. On the one hand, a significant part of the hierarchy no longer sees the Ukrainian Orthodox Church as part of the Moscow Patriarchate. On the other hand, there is a smaller group of those who insist on maintaining its status as part of the Russian Orthodox Church and consider the decisions of the UOC Council of May 2022 to be null and void.

However, Archbishop Sylvester categorically states: «There is no question of any schism here. We are all members of the same Church and receive communion from the same Chalice.» He emphasized that there is an open discussion between the hierarchs of the UOC, which is an extremely important factor. The very existence of such a discussion, in his opinion, testifies to the increased interest in this topic among the clergy and faithful, since it is impossible to start a broad discussion without a response.

In conclusion, Archbishop Silvester noted that, unfortunately, there are examples of other local Churches where any open discussion is suppressed. However, in the UOC, even in the current difficult conditions of war, the ability to openly express opinions and dialog is preserved, which avoids «conspiratorial silence.»

Recall, earlier we reported that Archbishop Silvester (Stoychev) commented on the future development of relations of the UOC with the Russian Orthodox Church and the Patriarchate of Constantinople. According to the hierarch, the Ukrainian Church will never again return to the Russian Orthodox Church, however, in his opinion, the UOC needs to develop relations with the Patriarchate of Constantinople.