OCU spokesman: "The idea of an exarchate for the UOC-MP is a way to destroy the Tomos"

The head of the press service of the OCU, Yevstratiy Zorya, sharply criticized the idea of creating a temporary exarchate of the Patriarchate of Constantinople for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Ukraine. In his opinion, such a step is a disguised attempt to undermine and devalue the Tomos of autocephaly of the OCU, which ultimately «plays into Moscow’s hands and threatens the unity of world Orthodoxy.» Zoria said this in an interview with the Viche YouTube channel.

«Any attempt to undermine the Tomos of autocephaly in Ukraine leads to the destruction of the very right of the Ecumenical Patriarch to grant the Tomos and proclaim that the Church is canonical and autocephalous,» Zoria explained.

He is convinced that if the finality of Patriarch Bartholomew’s decision is questioned, it will lead to the destruction of «the last center of assembly and integrity of world Orthodoxy,» which is the Patriarchate of Constantinople. In fact, the creation of a parallel jurisdiction in the form of an exarchate for the UOC would mean a denial of the decision already made by Phanar.

The OCU spokesman also pointed to a logical contradiction in the proposal to create an exarchate. «Will those who now demand an exarchate, after receiving it, serve and pray with the Orthodox Church of Ukraine? Obviously, yes. If so, what prevents them from doing so now?» he asked a rhetorical question. According to him, the supporters of this idea, who have not recognized the Tomos for years, are now actually asking for «a reward for not fulfilling it.»

Earlier, the exarch of the Patriarchate of Constantinople in Ukraine, Bishop Mikhail Anishchenko of Komana, expressed his opinion on whether it is possible to create an additional exarchate of Phanar in Ukraine, which could include priests and believers of the UOC after the ban on the Church. The hierarch said that although the Tomos of autocephaly of the OCU provides for such a possibility for the Patriarchate of Constantinople, he has no information that such an exarchate is being prepared.