The head of the OCU compared himself to the Apostle Paul and claimed the right to judge the UOC

The head of the OCU, Epiphany Dumenko, issued a statement regarding his organization’s status and its right to pass judgment on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The head of the OCU emphasized that, despite his organization having formal grounds for ecclesiastical judgment, they are consciously demonstrating “humility.”

In a post, “ ,” shared on social media, Dumenko characterized representatives of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church as “followers of Russian Pharisaism.” According to him, the OCU maintains a conciliatory stance, calling for dialogue; however, this does not mean they lack the canonical authority to conduct a trial. To support his argument, he drew a parallel with the actions of the Russian Orthodox Church in Africa, noting that such restraint on the part of his organization should not be interpreted as doubt regarding its own legitimacy.

In addition, the head of the OCU addressed the issue of his organization’s non-recognition by a number of Local Churches. He compared himself to the Apostle Paul, asserting that external non-recognition does not diminish the OCU’s status as a Local Church for Ukraine. Dumenko also criticized those who question the legality of their autocephaly, stating that the Tomos was granted by the Ecumenical Patriarch, who, in his view, possesses the exclusive right to make such decisions, regardless of the position of Moscow or other opponents.

As a reminder, Metropolitan Anthony (Pakanich), the administrator of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), previously expressed the official position regarding the possibility of a merger between the UOC and 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.