"Episcopal Council" of the OCU Held at the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra

On July 14, 2025, another session of the “Episcopal Council” of the OCU was held in the Refectory Church of Saints Anthony and Theodosius of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, chaired by Epiphaniy Dumenko. According to the OCU’s website, 53 hierarchs of the OCU took part in the “Council.” The head of the OCU presented a report on the activities of the “church” since May 2024, followed by discussion of the agenda items.

The participants of the “Council” again declared their readiness for dialogue “for the sake of achieving church unity” based on the Tomos of autocephaly. At the same time, they expressed regret over what was described as the “ultimatum-like refusal” by the leadership of the “Moscow Patriarchate in Ukraine” to engage in dialogue, while noting the success of such interaction at the level of individual religious communities.

The “Council” expressed gratitude to the parishes and clergy who, according to the OCU, voluntarily “joined” the church structure over the past year. It also supported the legislative decision to ban religious organizations in Ukraine from being subordinate to “centers in Russia” and voiced hope for further implementation of these norms.

At the conclusion of the meeting, the “Council” approved a draft Message dedicated to the 1700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council and the 1037th anniversary of the Baptism of Rus.

Earlier, it was reported that former President of Ukraine and current MP Petro Poroshenko accused the incumbent head of state, Volodymyr Zelensky, of allowing Local Orthodox Churches to cease recognition of the OCU during his term. According to Poroshenko, frequent meetings with Church leaders during his presidency contributed to the recognition of the OCU.