Archpriest in Bar Supports Metropolitan Onufriy and Calls the OCU Schismatic

The rector of the Cathedral of Saint John Vladimir in the Montenegrin city of Bar, Serbian Orthodox Church priest Slobodan Zeković, publicly expressed his support for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and its Primate, Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine Onufriy. Speaking about the structure headed by Epiphany Dumenko, the Serbian priest called it schismatic. He made this statement on August 11 after the Divine Liturgy, according to the Union of Orthodox Journalists in Serbia.

He noted that all those who belong to the OCU cannot receive Communion in the churches of the Serbian Orthodox Church, as it considers this organization to be a schism.

The statement was made in the context of explaining the rules for participating in the Church’s sacraments. According to Zeković, only those baptized in the canonical Orthodox Church can partake in the Holy Sacraments. He added that a significant number of people from Ukraine live in Bar, so the issue of church affiliation has practical importance for participation in worship services.

Zeković stressed that Ukraine has been suffering from a bloody war for many years, and the suffering of Orthodox peoples evokes deep sympathy. He emphasized that there is only one canonical Orthodox Church in Ukraine — the Ukrainian Orthodox Church headed by Metropolitan Onufriy.

It should also be noted that in the Serbian city of Surčin, at the Church of the Venerable Mother Paraskeva, priest Strahinja Golijan presented a Serbian translation of the “Kyiv-Pechersk Patericon.” In an interview with journalists, he not only spoke about the book but also defended the Orthodox shrines of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which are currently under attack.