The head of the OCU once again called on the UOC to engage in dialogue "without preconditions"

The head of the OCU, Epiphany Dumenko, once again emphasized “readiness for constructive dialogue with representatives of the UOC without any preconditions.” This is stated in a report published on the OCU’s website.

During an expanded meeting of OCU officials held on July 14, 2026, Dumenko emphasized that, “despite the UOC’s declarations of alleged independence, this organization remains affiliated with the Moscow Patriarchate.” He assured that the OCU “continues to persistently call for unity among the clergy and believers who remain under the authority of the Russian religious center.”

To coordinate efforts toward unification within the OCU, a special Commission for Dialogue was established on February 2, 2026, headed by former Metropolitan Simeon Shostatsky of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. However, as the head of the OCU noted, no official response to these proposals has yet been received from the leadership of the UOC.

According to Dumenko, the main goal of the dialogue is “unification around the Kyiv See on the basis of autocephaly, in accordance with the 2019 Tomos.” He also thanked all the parishes and priests of the UOC who had defected from their native Church, calling this “a vitally necessary step for Ukraine” and a final liberation from the ideology of the “Russian World.”

As a reminder, earlier, Metropolitan Anthony (Pakanich) , the administrator of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), expressed the official position regarding the possibility of uniting the UOC with the OCU. He emphasized that such a merger requires not a political or rational approach, but first and foremost a church-based, canonical, and spiritual one. According to the UOC’s statement, true unity is possible only through the restoration of canonical and Eucharistic communion, based on the recognition of canonical principles and mutual love in Christ.