“Discussed the Romanian and Moscow Patriarchates”: Head of the OCU held a meeting with the Ukrainian ambassador to Romania

On July 23, 2025, the head of the OCU, Epiphanius Dumenko, met with the Ukrainian ambassador to Romania, Igor Prokopchuk. During the meeting, the parties discussed the influence of the Moscow Patriarchate on the development of the Romanian Orthodox Church in Moldova, as well as the recognition of the OCU by the Bucharest. This was reported on the official website of the OCU.

“During the meeting, the parties discussed issues related to strengthening inter-state and inter-church relations, as well as the religious situation in Ukraine and Romania. They also discussed the long-standing destructive influence of the Moscow Patriarchate on religious life in various countries, one of which is Moldova, where the Russian organization is hindering the establishment of the legitimate jurisdiction of the Romanian Orthodox Church there. In addition, the Primate spoke about the actions and decisions of the OCU regarding the further establishment of dialogue with the Romanian Patriarchate on the basis of the Tomos of Autocephaly,” – the statement said.

Recall that recently Epiphany Dumenko exploded with criticism of the Romanian Orthodox Church. Dumenko, speaking out against the establishment of the Romanian Orthodox Church of Ukraine by the Romanian Church, stated that the Romanian Patriarchate has no right to create parallel jurisdictions on the territory of Ukraine without coordination with the OCU. He is convinced that the OCU is fully capable of independently meeting the religious needs of Romanian-speaking believers within the Romanian vicariate, which was previously established within the organization.