The "St. Sophia Brotherhood" has published an appeal from the clergy and laity of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church to the Patriarch of Constantinople regarding the establishment of stauropegial parishes

A group of unnamed clergy and laypeople from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church has appealed to Patriarch Bartholomew, asking him to accept their parishes under his direct archpastoral omophorion as stauropegial communities. The initiative group has already visited the residence in Constantinople to deliver a letter outlining their position on their future ecclesiastical status. This was reported by Sofiyske-bratstvo.org.

In their appeal, the authors emphasize that they find themselves in a difficult pastoral situation. On the one hand, they do not wish to remain in administrative unity with the Moscow Patriarchate. On the other hand, due to historical traumas and the painful experience of conflicts during the “transitions” of parishes, many believers are currently not ready “to immediately join the OCU.” Therefore, they view the creation of stauropegial communities as a temporary transitional measure that will help heal church wounds and avoid internal divisions.

Protopriest Serhiy Barshay, a member of the “St. Sophia Brotherhood,” emphasized in his commentary that “the current crisis in the UOC is a consequence of both the lack of effective church diplomacy and the inability of the UOC leadership to provide conditions for believers who wish to sever ties with Moscow but do not see their place within the structure of the OCU.” According to the authors of the appeal, such a step is not an alternative to the unity of the local church, but rather—a “spiritual bridge” that will allow believers “to gradually enter into full Eucharistic communion with the Mother Church and all of Universal Orthodoxy, without fear or coercion.”

As a reminder, Lyudmila Filipovich, a religious studies scholar, Doctor of Philosophy, and OCU lobbyist, previously expressed her views on possible ways to resolve the Ukrainian church conflict. According to Filipovich, one should not expect the Patriarch of Constantinople to intervene in the situation, since he has already granted the Tomos. However, the religious studies scholar believes that the UOC and the OCU must “reset” all their grievances and return to the roots of the conflict in order to begin a meaningful dialogue.