“They remain silent, as if nothing happened”: UOC hierarch criticizes bishops for lack of reaction to Metropolitan Onufry's deprivation of citizenship

The hierarch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Luke of Zaporizhia and Melitopol, criticized the bishops of the UOC, who had previously published a joint statement expressing their disagreement with the decisions of the Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church in connection with the dismissal of Metropolitan Hilarion of Donetsk and Mariupol from his position as head of the Donetsk diocese. The reason for the criticism was the deprivation of Ukrainian citizenship of the Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, His Beatitude Metropolitan of Kiev and All Ukraine. Metropolitan Luke rightly noted that the bishops who promised “not to remain silent” did not react to this event for some reason. He wrote about this on his Telegram channel.

“I want to address with pain in my heart and concern for the Church, not with reproach, but with pain and surprise, those who, having recently learned of the decision regarding their brother, declared that they could no longer remain silent and promised that ‘now we will speak loudly’. Then, clearly, in various forums, it was said that this was a confession of truth, a cry of conscience, the beginning of spiritual awakening, courage, and conciliar testimony. But then something much worse happened: our Primate of the Mother Church, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufry, was stripped of his citizenship. The blow was dealt not only to the person, but to the Church itself, to its High Priest, to the canonical order, to unity. And now — silence. The signatories of the “resounding” statement are silent. Not a word. Not a line. Not a confession. They are silent, as if nothing had happened. They are silent, as if it does not concern us. They are silent, as if they had not promised to speak,” – the hierarch noted.

Metropolitan Luke is convinced that the situation with the deprivation of citizenship of the Primate of the UOC is not just a measure of personal pressure, but another attack on the entire Church. In this regard, the bishop called on his brothers not to remain silent, but to speak out on this issue.

“People are asking: where is the righteous zeal of those who promised not to remain silent? Where are our vows of allegiance to the Church? Where is our spiritual courage when the Primate, our Father and intercessor for millions, is being despised before the eyes of all Ukraine? They ask with pain: why? Perhaps someone is afraid for themselves, for their own. I understand that human fear is real. People wonder: perhaps someone received a warning from someone. And the soul chose to remain silent. Perhaps someone was promised something if they were “compliant and obedient,” and the past would be overlooked. Of course, someone may have simply grown tired of fighting, tired of hoping, and decided to go with the flow. […] Isn’t this silence a betrayal of one’s flock? Today, such silence speaks louder than any words. It is heard by everyone: the flock, the clergy, the enemies of the Church. And it hurts more than the slander directed at us. I ask you—not on my own behalf, but on behalf of those faithful children of the Church who expect from us not fear, not compromise, not agreement, but a living confession of the truth. If you have already said, “We will speak,” then speak!”, – added Metropolitan Luke.

We previously reported that on October 31, 2024, a statement by the bishops of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church appeared online, in which the hierarchs express their disagreement with the decisions of the Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church regarding the dismissal of Metropolitan Hilarion of Donetsk and Mariupol from his position as head of the Donetsk Diocese. The text of the statement has already been signed by more than 30 hierarchs of the UOC. In it, the hierarchs call on the Russian Church to respect the canonical territory of the UOC and to stop dismissing hierarchs of the UOC in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.