“The grace of priesthood and apostolic succession cannot be a decision of administrative order” - Metropolitan Luke

The hierarch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Luke (Kovalenko) of Zaporizhzhia and Melitopol, addressed the Primate of the UOC, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufriy of Kyiv and All Ukraine, in connection with the recent call by the head of the OCU, Epiphany Dumenko, to unite with the organization he leads. Metropolitan Luke believes that the recognition of the OCU “without conditions” does not comply with the canonical order of the Church and cannot be dictated solely by political expediency. The bishop published an appeal to the Primate on his Telegram channel.

“You, of course, understand that this unity cannot be created artificially, and it should not be created around national, political or any other earthly preferences. This unity is possible only around Christ and in Christ. And it is possible only on the canonical foundation of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. The grace of the priesthood and the recognition of the apostolic succession of the clergy cannot be a decision of administrative order. It can be true and valid only if the sacrament itself is performed by persons who have the canonical right to do so. If this condition is not met, we will bring chaos to our sacraments, which will lead not to unity but to the destruction of the foundations of church life,” — the Metropolitan argues.

The bishop emphasized that it is absolutely unacceptable to conduct dialogues with an organization that simultaneously engages in the seizure of churches and monasteries. The Metropolitan is convinced that dialogue with the OCU is possible only after these atrocities are stopped.

“We do not refuse to engage in dialogue with all people of good will who sincerely want the unity of Orthodoxy in Ukraine. But for me personally, it remains a mystery how one can talk about the need for love and peace using violence, threats, beatings, falsification, sacrilege and theft? How can one speak of light while doing the works of darkness? God sees the hearts of people. The first thing that, in my opinion, should begin a dialog about our unity is the recognition of the atrocities that were committed against our Mother Church and repentance for them,” — added Metropolitan Luke.

The bishop also spoke about how he personally witnessed the statements of Patriarch Bartholomew until 2018, when he claimed that he was not going to recognize the Ukrainian schism. Metropolitan Luke pointed out that the head of Phanar lied, becoming in fact the ancestor of a new round of the Ukrainian church conflict.

“Moreover, I know that the Ecumenical Patriarch himself publicly during personal meetings (I took part in one of them in Tbilisi) with representatives of our episcopate strongly rejected the “rumors” that he was going to recognize as “church” those whom he himself had recently called schismatics. He also denied in every possible way that preparations were underway for the proclamation of a “tomos.” But by saying one thing, the Ecumenical Patriarch was actually doing something else, which, in my opinion, is also incompatible with the Gospel ethics and morality,” — he added.

The head of the Zaporizhzhia Eparchy called on the Primate of the UOC not to succumb to provocations by the OCU and to stand in faith. Moreover, the bishop pointed out that any steps towards the OCU would not be accepted by the Local Churches, which have already defended the UOC.

“Your Beatitude, you know that all the claims that we are now hearing from the lips of some politicians and deputies are far-fetched and completely devoid of common sense. Our conscience is clear before God and our people. We have nothing to be ashamed of and nothing to be ashamed of. No persecution, harassment, or threats from the enemies of our Church will be able to shake our faith and confidence in our righteousness. But any compromises with people who serve worldly interests will only make us more vulnerable. We will not be understood and supported by representatives of other Local Churches who have come to our defense at the international level without fear of anything. In this case, we will lose the help of God,” — added the Metropolitan of Zaporizhzhia.

Earlier, we reported that the head of the OCU Epiphany Dumenko published an open appeal to the Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufriy of Kyiv and All Ukraine, calling for a dialogue on unification. Dumenko believes that the conditions previously set by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church for starting a dialogue with the OCU are unrealizable, so the process should begin “without preconditions.”