“They took away churches, and now they call to unite": In Volyn, the ‘Deans’ of the OCU appealed to the priests of the UOC with a ”fraternal call”

The “deans” of the Volyn Diocese of the OCU appealed to the clergy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church to implement Law No. 8371 and unite into a “single OCU.” The “deans” guarantee that the UOC communities that have moved to the OCU will be able to retain their churches, liturgical language, and calendar. The appeal was published on the official website of the Volyn Diocese of the OCU.

“In connection with the adoption by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine of the Law “On the Protection of the Constitutional Order in the Field of Activities of Religious Organizations”, we extend to you the hand of love and peace and ask you to reunite into one Church, which was granted canonical autocephaly by the Ecumenical Patriarch. We assure you that in the bosom of our Church, each parish determines for itself what liturgical language to pray in, what calendar style to use, and what local traditions to follow. You will retain your parishes with churches and other buildings, dignity and titles, church awards,” — the statement reads.

Earlier, the odious head of the Volyn Diocese of the OCU, Mikhail Zinkevich, spoke about which churches and monasteries he would be able to take away from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Volyn thanks to Law No. 8371 adopted by the Verkhovna Rada. According to Zinkevich, the state will transfer one of the cathedrals and several monasteries, which are architectural monuments, to the ownership of the Volyn Diocese of the OCU.