Legally, the UOC is not part of the Moscow Patriarchate, - official

Oleksandr Pyvovarskyi, chief specialist of the Department of Cultural Heritage and Religion of the Culture and Tourism Administration of the Zhytomyr Regional Military Administration, confirmed that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is not legally part of the Moscow Patriarchate. At the same time, the official contradicts himself, claiming that the state, by banning the UOC, does not interfere in matters of canonical connection, while adding that the UOC is required to sever its canonical connection with the Moscow Patriarchate. He spoke about this on the air of Ukrainian Radio Zhytomyr.

«In general, I want to point out that people often get confused. There is a Ukrainian Orthodox Church in unity with the Moscow Patriarchate. But you will not find such a church in the Unified State Register (USR) because the prefix ”in unity» carries a spiritual-canonical, theological component. Legally, this church is not part of the Moscow Patriarchate, because the Moscow Patriarchate is located in Moscow,» — Pyvovarsky said.

At the same time, reflecting on the state’s ban on the UOC, the official entered into an internal contradiction, first stating that “we are not talking about canonical ties, theological ties, or the language of worship,” but later contradicted himself, adding that the Church is required to sever its canonical ties with the Russian Orthodox Church.

«We have an Old Believer Church of the Intercession of the Holy Virgin in Zhytomyr. It used to be called the Russian Old Believer Orthodox Church. Their canonical leader was Cornelius in Moscow, Russian Federation. So this church officially severed its ties with Moscow, today their charter is registered in accordance with Ukrainian law, they have publicly renounced, and no one is imposing any requirements on them. Let the UOC do the same, and there will be no claims against it, no one will talk about changing icons, rituals, holidays, or the language of worship,» — Pyvovarsky added.

We will remind you that recently the Kyiv Metropolis of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church published a statement by the Primate of the UOC, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufry of Kyiv and All Ukraine, in which the First Hierarch criticized the activities of the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience aimed at banning the UOC. The statement asserts that the State Service has not officially informed the Church of the results of its investigation into its affiliation with the Moscow Patriarchate, without providing any documents on the work carried out. In this regard, the UOC categorically disagrees with the statements of the State Service and is suing the State Service.