“There were no expectations that anything would change dramatically,” UOC hierarch

The hierarch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Oleksiy (Shpakov) of Voznesensk and Pervomaisk, spoke about what happened on May 27, during the celebration by the bishops of the Church of the third anniversary of the UOC Council in Feofaniya. The bishop noted that no one had any special expectations, and the Primate of the Church only confirmed the position of the UOC, which was approved in 2022. He said this in a comment to the Glavkom publication.

“There was a service. There were no expectations that something could change dramatically. The Church has already declared independence in 2022. They say that Onufriy should (leave the Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church). He has already made statements about this, which have now been forgotten. Just as they have forgotten that he condemned Russia’s armed aggression,” – the bishop said.

As reported, on May 27, 2025, the capital’s St. Panteleimon Monastery in Feofaniya hosted celebrations on the occasion of the 33rd anniversary of the Kharkiv Bishops’ Council and the third anniversary of the Council of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which was held in the monastery in 2022. The Primate of the UOC, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry, led the festive service, after which he addressed the audience with an address published on May 20, 2025, during a conference held at the Kyiv Theological Academy and Seminary.