For the recognition of the OCU it is necessary to have a cathedral pan-Orthodox decision, - hierarch of the UOC

The hierarch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Luka (Kovalenko) of Zaporizhzhya and Melitopol, is convinced that the issue of recognizing the Ukrainian Orthodox Church lies within the framework of the pan-Orthodox discussion and cannot be imposed by the Patriarchate of Constantinople using political tools, as it is happening now. About this the bishop told in an interview with the publication “Babel”, reports the website of the Zaporizhzhya diocese of the UOC.

Answering the journalist’s question about why Metropolitan Luke so often criticizes the OCU, the hierarch answered the following: “Tell me, where did this organization arise from, who legitimized it? Everyone knows — it is not recognized by all Local Churches. And for me this point is decisive, because in this case there is a need for an exclusively cathedral pan-Orthodox decision, and not the vision of a small part of universal Orthodoxy, which is imposed with the help of political instruments. The paper signed by the Ecumenical Patriarch is only, conditionally speaking, a certificate to a sick person that he is quite healthy. Yes, you can pretend that everything is fine, that everything is in order, but you can’t cheat the spiritual laws».

In addition, the bishop pointed out the facts of aggression of the representatives of the OCU towards the UOC. The Metropolitan believes that those who refer themselves to the true Church cannot afford to seize other people’s temples and beat the faithful.

“Moreover, remember the words, ‘By their deeds you will recognize them’ and ‘A good tree cannot bear the fruit of a bad tree.’ Is the true Church capable of seizing other people’s temples and allowing its supporters to beat and maim people? And this question is asked not even by us, but by many of our Orthodox brothers and sisters from other countries. In their eyes, the organization you mentioned is a structure with a hammer and chisel in its hands, which bulldozes through violence and deceit to organize “voluntary” transfers of churches to its jurisdiction. Just read what foreign church media, even Greek ones, write on this subject», — summarized the hierarch.

We will remind, earlier the rector of the Kiev Theological Seminary and Academy Archbishop of Belgorod Silvester (Stoychev) stated the impossibility of any dialog with representatives of the PCU. The reason for this is the aggressive policy of the OCU and the unconcealed desire to destroy the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which is supported by appropriate rhetoric.