The hierarch of the UOC urged the bishops of the Bulgarian Church not to deviate from the observance of church canons

The hierarch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Luke of Zaporizhzhya and Melitopol, has called on the episcopate of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church not to deviate from the observance of church canons and not to violate the unity of Orthodoxy to please interested parties. Metropolitan Luke believes that the position on the Ukrainian church crisis, which the BOC chose under the late Patriarch Neophytos, is the most optimal for preserving the Church from drifting into schism. The hierarch wrote this in an open letter addressed to the BOC episcopate, the Bulgarian website GLASOVE reported.

“Today our Ecumenical Church is experiencing not the easiest of times. The canons are being grossly violated, there is a deliberately brazen legalization of schism, and the scale of destruction of pan-Orthodox unity is increasing. Against this background, the position of each local Church and each bishop is of utmost importance. After all, we are not talking about some conflict over administrative boundaries or privileges, but about the preservation of the true faith, the purity of Orthodoxy, which in the current conditions are trying to be replaced by a simulacrum based on the primacy of power of one religious center. Unfortunately, this process is reflected in Ukraine. In this regard, we have always been grateful to the Bulgarian Church for its unwavering support of canonical Orthodoxy in our country, which was expressed to me personally by Patriarch Neophytos, now deceased,” – Metropolitan Luke wrote.

The bishop added that the recent co-service of some hierarchs of the BOC with representatives of the OCU in Istanbul should in no way affect the general position of the Bulgarian Church on the Ukrainian church issue. Metropolitan Luka believes that the possible recognition of the OCU by the BOC will bring much grief not only to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, but also to the faithful of Bulgaria itself, who were critical of such an act of their hierarchs.

“What happened in Istanbul is out of the slender and systematic series of steps of the BOC to defend the true faith. We can see from the church media that this is also understood in Bulgaria, where the initiative caused a lot of criticism and bewilderment in the church environment. I would not like to judge anyone. For, first of all, this is an internal matter of the participants of this action and of the Bulgarian Church itself, and all relevant issues should initially be resolved within the BOC itself. However, I consider it possible to call upon you, my fellow bishops, to think very carefully before making momentous decisions, including for us. In particular, this concerns the recognition of a certain religious structure. A structure whose supporters are seizing other people’s churches, beating and maiming Orthodox Christians. A structure where there is no apostolic succession and the chiarotonies of its top leadership are insignificant from the point of view of the canons. A structure whose leaders express their readiness to follow the path of a new union and integration into the anti-Orthodox world. A structure whose founder in 1996 supported the Bulgarian schismatics led by Metropolitan Pimen by serving with them,” – the Metropolitan emphasized.

Lastly, Metropolitan Luke urged his fellow bishops from the Bulgarian Orthodox Church not to stray from the path of fidelity to the Orthodox canons and Church unity.

“That is why I ask you, in the days when the entire fullness celebrates the birthday of our Mother Church – Holy Pentecost, to do the right thing – according to the doctrinal truths of Orthodoxy, canons and conscience. After all, much will depend on your decision. First of all, the future path of our Church – into a grandiose schism, which will be much worse than the schism of 1054, or into purification and recovery through the restoration of the broken unity. Let us not transgress what cannot be transgressed. Because, as St. John Chrysostom said: “The Church is not the walls of the Church, but the laws of the Church”. That is why I ask you, in the days when the whole Church celebrates the birthday of our Mother Church – Holy Pentecost, to do the right thing – according to the doctrinal truths of Orthodoxy, canons and conscience. After all, much will depend on your decision. First of all, the future path of our Church – into a grandiose schism, which will be much worse than the schism of 1054, or into purification and recovery through the restoration of the broken unity. Let us not transgress what cannot be transgressed. Because, as St. John Chrysostom said: “The Church is not the walls of the Church, but the laws of the Church”, – summarized the hierarch of the UOC.

We shall remind you that the head of the Synodal Information and Education Department of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Kliment (Vecherya), commented on the service of a number of hierarchs of the Bulgarian Patriarchate with representatives of the OCU, which took place the previous day in one of the churches in Istanbul. The bishop believes that the act of individual bishops of the BOC does not represent the general position of the Bulgarian Church.