Epiphany Dumenko called the Jerusalem Church’s failure to recognize the OCU a “mistake”

Epiphany Dumenko, head of the OCU, commented on the lack of prayerful communion between the organization he leads and the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, as well as a number of other Local Churches. Dumenko characterized the position of these Churches as erroneous, drawing historical parallels with biblical events.

In a post on his Facebook account, the head of the OCU referred to a passage from the Epistle to the Galatians, in which the Apostle Paul criticized the Apostle Peter forfor his refusal to communicate directly with Gentile Christians. Using this example, Dumenko stated that the current leadership of the Church of Jerusalem is allegedly making a similar mistake by not recognizing the autocephaly of the OCU. He emphasized that, in his view, the historical primacy and antiquity of the Church of Jerusalem do not guarantee the infallibility of its decisions.

The head of the OCU also expressed his conviction that the rejection of his organization is a temporary phenomenon. He called his opponents a “novel heretical brotherhood” and expressed confidence that, in time, other Local Churches would “correct their attitude” and restore fraternal communion with his organization.

As a reminder, Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem previously announced his intention to act as a mediator to end the conflict in Ukraine. The primate stated that he plans to hold talks with the presidents of Russia and Ukraine, Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, to help overcome the ecclesiastical schism and stop the bloodshed.