I know members of the Synod of the Orthodox Church of America who would recognize the OCU if they had their way - Hovorun

The defrocked former clergyman of the Russian Orthodox Church, Kirill Govorun, said that among the representatives of the Orthodox Local Churches located in the United States, there is an ambiguous attitude towards the conflict between the UOC and the OCU. Hovorun claims that even in the Orthodox Church of America, which received autocephaly from the Russian Church, there are hierarchs who are ready to recognize the OCU. He spoke about this during the webinar “Myths and Prejudices on the Way to the Unity of Ukrainian Orthodoxy”.

“I would also like to say about the attitude of Orthodox churches in America to the conflict between the UOC and the OCU. Those churches that come from the Russian tradition take the side of the UOC in this conflict. They do not enter into communion with the OCU, they do not recognize the Tomos, they do not recognize the decision on the autocephaly of the OCU, and they quite consistently criticize the OCU and the Ukrainian government in one package, promoting narratives of persecution against the UOC. The “champion” among the Orthodox churches of the Russian tradition in this matter is the ROCOR. Somewhat unexpectedly, the Orthodox Church in America (OCA – ed.) has taken a rather unilateral position. Although it used to be more neutral and moderate, now it is taking a position that tends to be closer to the ROCOR-not as radical, but close enough. There are various explanations for why this is happening. It is largely the personal position of the Primate and some bishops in the Synod. Although the Synod of the OCA is also quite divided. I know members of the Synod of the OCA who are definitely on the side of Ukraine and who, if they had their way, would recognize the OCU. But they do not constitute a majority in the synod, they do not have the informal weight that people like, for example, Father Leonid Kishkovsky, who died and with whom the visions that the OCA had since the days of Schmemann and Meyendorff left. Now there are no figures comparable to Kishkovsky who could informally influence the way he informally influenced the policy of the OCA,” – Hovorun said.

Earlier it was reported that from June 7 to 10, 2024, a delegation of the Orthodox Church of America, led by the Primate of the Orthodox Church of America, Archbishop Tikhon of Washington, Metropolitan of All America and Canada, visited the Patriarchate of Constantinople. Representatives of the OCA met with Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, during which the Ukrainian church issue was raised.