Metropolitan Efrem of Krivoy Rog: The UOC Council of 2022 was held without any external pressure

Metropolitan Efrem of Kryvyi Rih and Nikopol has issued a statement in which he emphasized the full independence and legitimacy of the Council of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church held on May 27, 2022 in Theophany. According to him, all decisions were made without any pressure from the secular authorities or power structures, and the initiative to hold it came directly from the episcopate, clergy and believers.

In his statement, the bishop emphasized that the Council was convened by the Primate of the UOC, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufry of Kyiv and All Ukraine, in full compliance with the Charter, which defines the Council as the highest body of church authority. «It is especially important that the initiative to hold the Council came not from behind the scenes of the secular authorities, but from among the episcopate, clergy and laity, who keenly felt the need for the advent of changes in church life,» the report says.

Vladyka Ephrem also pointed out the catholic nature of the decisions made, as the Council was attended by delegates from each diocese — archpastors, clergy and laity. This, he said, ensured that the voice of the entire fullness of the Church was expressed. He emphasized that there was no pressure on the participants. «Everyone present had the opportunity to choose their personal position and express their own opinion on pressing issues,» the Metropolitan noted.

In conclusion, Metropolitan Ephrem reminded that all resolutions of the Council of May 27, 2022 are binding on all members of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. He warned against attempts to give new interpretations to the actions of the Council, calling them destabilizing and «seducing the faithful».

Earlier Metropolitan of Cherkassy and Kanev Theodosius (Snigiryov) said that the Council in Theophany in 2022 was held under pressure from the secret services. The bishop noted that the hierarchs of the UOC were threatened by people «in shoulder straps» before participating in the council, demanding that they make «necessary decisions».