Metropolitan Meletios of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church confirmed the severing of ties with the Moscow Patriarchate during a meeting with a delegation from the World Council of Churches

During an official visit to Ukraine, a delegation from the World Council of Churches (WCC) held talks with representatives of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, during which they discussed the organization’s status amid the ongoing full-scale war. According to Orthodox Times, the key outcome of the meeting was a statement announcing the complete severance of the UOC’s ties with Moscow.

Metropolitan Meletius (Yegorenko) of Chernivtsi and Bukovina, in a conversation with WCC representatives, strongly condemned Russian military aggression. The hierarch emphasized that the UOC does not share the position of the Russian Orthodox Church, whose actions “have led to the deaths of believers and the destruction of churches under Ukrainian jurisdiction.” ““We have nothing in common with Moscow, which kills,” the Orthodox Times quoted the metropolitan as saying.

In addition, it was noted that the Primate of the UOC, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufry, is no longer a member of the Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church. Metropolitan Meletios added that the Church is forced to prove its loyalty to Ukraine in the face of accusations of working for the secret services, and called on the World Council of Churches to help disseminate accurate information about the UOC’s position.

As a reminder, Greek theologian and hieromonk Nikitas Pantokratorinos has criticized the leadership of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, headed by Metropolitan Onufry of Kyiv and All Ukraine. According to the expert, several years after the Council in Theophania, the canonical status of this religious organization remains uncertain, and claims regarding its complete autonomy lack legal validation within the Orthodox world.