OCU hierarch: We can also honor Xenia of St. Petersburg and Matrona of Moscow in our churches

The head of the Odessa diocese of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, Afanasy Yavorsky, stated that Russian saints such as Blessed Xenia of St. Petersburg and Matrona of Moscow can be venerated in the churches of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. According to Yavorsky, there is nothing wrong with venerating these saints. He spoke about this in an interview with the regional publication Intent.

«We have many Ukrainian saints who are not recognized by the Russian Church. There are saints who are not recognized by the Ecumenical Patriarchate. Therefore, even if Xenia of St. Petersburg or Matrona of Moscow are saints for the Russian Church, we can also honor them in our churches. There is nothing wrong with that. But there are saints whom our Orthodox Church has excluded from the calendar of saints. They are promoted by the Russian Church and associated with collaborationism. Such as, for example, Alexander Nevsky and many others,»  — Yavorsky said.

Recall that the Synod of the OCU, which met in Kyiv on July 14, 2024, adopted a number of calendar decisions, as a result of which the organization abolished the veneration of several icons of the Mother of God and saints who, in their opinion, are associated exclusively with the Russian Orthodox Church.