UOC not obliged to proclaim autocephaly to break relations with ROC, - MP Poturaev

The head of the committee for humanitarian and information policy, an MP of the pro-presidential party, Mykita Poturaev, is convinced that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church does not have to declare autocephaly or join another jurisdiction to break relations with the Russian Orthodox Church. In the MP’s opinion, it is enough for the church to «formally withdraw from the church structures of the Russian Orthodox Church». About this he wrote in an author’s article on the website «KyivPost».

«This process requires the leadership of the UOC-MP to formally withdraw from the church structures of the Russian Orthodox Church, such as the episcopate, Synod, synodal commissions and the Inter-Sobor Presence, as well as a formal announcement of withdrawal from the Russian Church. The UOC-MP is not obliged to change anything in doctrine, liturgical language, traditional rites, change the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar, or to proclaim autocephaly or join another church. Leaving the Russian Orthodox Church certainly does not harm the conscience of an Orthodox Christian, since loyalty to the Moscow Patriarchate is not a doctrinal requirement of Orthodoxy», — Poturaev argues.

In addition, Poturaev argues that under the provisions of Bill No. 8371, the ban on the activities of a particular religious organization can only be carried out by a court decision.

«Moreover, according to this bill, the activity of any religious organization, especially one whose center is located in a state that commits aggression against Ukraine, can be terminated only by a court decision. According to the principles of a democratic society, only the court has the authority to make a final decision on such issues», — the MP writes.

It is worth noting that the Local Council of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church was held on May 27, 2022, which resulted in a number of decisions on independence from the Russian Orthodox Church. As explained by the Primate of the UOC, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphrius of Kyiv and All Ukraine, the Charter of the UOC «was supplemented and amended, which testify not only to the administrative independence that existed before, but also to the disassociation from the Moscow Patriarchate. In particular, this concerns the paragraph in which it was noted that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is a self-governing part of the Russian Orthodox Church. Henceforth, the resolutions of the Councils of the ROC are not the basis for the activities of the Council of Bishops of the UOC. The Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine has terminated his membership in the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church. The Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is elected for life by the episcopate of the UOC without further blessing. Also from the Statute is removed the clause on the commemoration of the name of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia during divine services in churches and monasteries of the UOC».

Thus, based on the logic of the text of the People’s Deputy of Ukraine Nikita Poturaev, all the necessary steps for «formal withdrawal from the church structures of the Russian Orthodox Church» the Ukrainian Orthodox Church has already made. Therefore, we dare to assume that the state is pursuing quite different goals by threatening to pass Law No. 8371 in the second reading.