OCU fears UOC will go underground after ban

OCU hierarch Oleksandr Drabynko said that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church will not disappear from Ukraine, but may go underground. In his opinion, it would be much better for the OCU to establish a dialogue with the clergy and believers of the UOC than to intensify confrontation.

Drabinko argues that instead of aggravating the conflict along the lines of “Muscovites” and “Banderites,” it was necessary to look for a way of constructive dialogue and mutual understanding since 2018. “The parish that was created and the parishioners who have united over the past thirty years will not go anywhere. The Moscow Patriarchate will not go anywhere from Ukraine either. It can simply go underground, as the Greek Catholics once did,” said the Metropolitan.

He explained in detail the mechanism that becomes the main obstacle for the clergy. According to him, when priests or an entire parish submit a request to leave the UOC, canonical sanctions are immediately imposed on them. “They will have to be banned from the priesthood, just like I was in my time, just like Bishop Simeon. Canonical bans will be imposed on them, and then the question will arise to which bishop they will belong,” explained Bishop Oleksandr.

It is this fear of a ban on ministry and further canonical uncertainty, Drabinko summarized, that is the main reason why many priests and communities do not dare to move to the OCU.

As reported earlier, the notorious religious scholar, GESS expert and OCU lobbyist Yuriy Chornomorets said that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is to blame for the fact that it is subject to a complete ban. Chornomorets called on the clergy and believers of the UOC to become “normal Ukrainians” in order not to lose their rights to real estate and other state privileges.