Former Head of SSEFC Confirms Documents Showing UOC Primate’s Exit from the ROC Synod

Olena Bohdan, former head of Ukraine’s State Service for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience, stated that the official website of the agency contains documents confirming the exit of the Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) from the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC). She made these remarks during a broadcast on Suspilne.

“Regarding whether the Primate left the Holy Synod — I invite all interested parties, including fact-checkers, to review the information on the State Service’s website under the ‘Religion’ section,” Bohdan said.

She added that the site hosts the UOC’s charter documents as well as correspondence from 2022 between the State Service and the Church, which clearly states that the Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine ceased his membership in the ROC Holy Synod.

“There is a letter in which the UOC announces the Metropolitan’s termination of membership in the ROC, along with several other details,” the former official clarified.

Bohdan also emphasized that official state bodies currently hold documents signed by the UOC Primate Metropolitan Onuphy. This aligns with the UOC’s charter rules, according to which the Primate represents the Church in communications with government authorities.

Recall that Metropolitan Alexiy (Shpakov) of Voznesensk and Pervomaisk, a hierarch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, spoke about the events of May 27 during the Church’s episcopal celebration of the third anniversary of the UOC Council in Feofaniya. The hierarch noted that there were no particular expectations, and the Primate merely reaffirmed the UOC’s position adopted in 2022.