“It's just a piece of paper": the OCU does not recognize the sanctions imposed on the UOC priests who have defected

The OCU does not recognize the sanctions against the clergy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church who have fallen into schism by joining the organization. The OCU believes that the ban on the ministry of such priests by their ruling bishops has no force. This was stated by the head of the press service of the Volyn Diocese of the OCU Vitaliy Sobko, commenting in the media on the ban on the ministry of Archpriest Stepan Ivanychko, a clergyman of the Volyn Diocese of the UOC, who left the canonical Church last week.

“This is just a piece of paper. Therefore, there is no need to somehow get out of this situation or other similar ones that have happened before or will happen in the future. After receiving the Tomos of autocephaly, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine is the only canonical Orthodox Church in our country. Accordingly, from the point of view of canon law, the jurisdiction of the Muscovite Patriarchate does not extend to the territory of Ukraine, and therefore such actions of the hierarchs of this structure are illegal,” – Sobko said.

As reported, on July 10, 2024, the head of the OCU Epiphany Dumenko delivered a keynote speech at the tenth closed meeting of the LB.ua Club. Dumenko devoted a significant part of his speech to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, trying to argue the “illegality” of the UOC’s activities in Ukraine. Dumenko accused the head of the UOC of being committed to the “Russian world” and the Church itself of not having the right to be called the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.