“The strategy of the Vatican and Phanar to unite Orthodox and Catholics is being implemented on the example of Ukraine,” - Metropolitan Luke

The hierarch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Luke of Zaporizhzhia and Melitopol, is convinced that the purpose of the legislative ban on the UOC is to completely destroy the Church. In addition, the metropolitan claims that eventually the remnants of the UOC and the OCU will be integrated into the UGCC, and Ukraine will thus become a testing ground for developing a mechanism for uniting the Patriarchate of Constantinople and the Vatican. Metropolitan Luke spoke about this in an interview with the Georgian edition of the “Point of View”.

“The UOC is not just under a ban, but under the threat of destruction. This is supposed to be done according to a simple scheme – to destroy the UOC, to merge its remnants into and then unite this structure with the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. In fact, the Vatican and Phanar’s strategy to unite Orthodox and Catholics is being implemented on the example of Ukraine, which can later be applied on a wider scale. Its initial goal is to form a new union on the basis of the OCU and the UGCC. If this task is accomplished, the Patriarchate of Constantinople and the Vatican will use the “Ukrainian precedent” as proof that the reunification of Orthodox and Catholics without changing the tenets of their doctrines is achievable and real,” – Metropolitan Luke said.

In addition, the hierarch added that the rest of the Ukrainian denominations not only do not prevent, but even contribute to the destruction of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Metropolitan Luke believes that each of them pursues its own interests in this matter.

“Unfortunately, our Church does not receive any more or less serious support within Ukraine, to put it mildly. On the contrary, the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations (which includes representatives of the RCC, Protestant, Muslim and Jewish structures, the UGCC, etc.) supported the bill aimed at banning the UOC. Why did this happen? Probably, everyone is pursuing their own interest. Someone wants to maintain good relations with the authorities, someone is closely connected with external forces that lobbied for the creation of the OCU project, someone wants to simply absorb the UOC, and someone wants to create conditions for the further Catholicization of Ukraine,” – the hierarch added.

Earlier, Metropolitan Luke commented on church-state relations in Ukraine. The bishop drew attention to the fact that in Ukraine the OCU was elevated to the category of state religion, trying to replace the canonical Church in this way.