Rector of KDAiS calls for resumption of UOC dialogue with Patriarchate of Constantinople

The rector of the Kyiv Theological Academy and Seminary of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Archbishop Sylvester (Stoychev), published an article in which he described his vision of the development of the UOC in the near future. According to the bishop, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church needs to move away from the policy of isolationism chosen by the Moscow Patriarchate and resume a dialogue with the Throne of Constantinople in order to find ways to resolve the church conflict in Ukraine. The article was published on the website of Public Orthodoxy.

«Those who follow my publications are well aware that I have repeatedly been quite critical of the decisions made by the Church of Constantinople since 2018, in particular, in my open letter to Patriarch Bartholomew. The problems I wrote about still remain unresolved. But at the same time, it is quite obvious to me that problems are not solved by themselves-they are solved in dialogue, in communication, in the exchange of views, in discussions. And, once again, despite my opinion about some of the actions of the Church of Constantinople, I believe that there are much more significant problems, to solve which we still need to seek dialogue with those with whom there is a misunderstanding. I am a principled opponent of any form of church isolationism, so I believe that the UOC could well begin church-diplomatic communication with the Church of Constantinople, communication with which is currently on hold. This is necessary to learn to hear and understand each other and to look for ways out,» said Archbishop Sylvester.

The hierarch noted that the issue of recognition of Ukrainian schismatics by the Patriarchate of Constantinople cannot be a reason for refusing to communicate with Phanar. The bishop claims that despite the fact that the Church of Constantinople has ties with the OCU, all Local Churches, except for the Russian Orthodox Church, support Eucharistic communion with Constantinople, while not recognizing Ukrainian schismatics.

«Opponents of this position will say that this is impossible because the Church of Constantinople is in communion with the OCU. But let me remind you that the UOC has Eucharistic communion with the Serbian, Bulgarian, Georgian, Polish and other Churches that are in communion with Constantinople, while refusing to recognize the OCU. The experience of all these Local Churches clearly shows that the issue of recognizing the OCU can and should be separated from the problem of communion with the Church of Constantinople. Speaking in Vinnytsia, Bishop Theodosius (Metropolitan of Cherkasy and Kaniv of the UOC — Ed.) spoke a lot about the need to normalize relations with the Russian Orthodox Church. But at the same time, we all see that the Russian Orthodox Church itself is getting closer to the dangerous edge of self-isolation. We should not take this path. Therefore, our vital task should be to normalize relations with the entire World Orthodoxy as a single family of Local Churches,» he added.

Earlier, the hierarch of the UOC, Metropolitan Theodosius of Cherkasy and Kaniv , appealed to the head of the Church of Constantinople, Patriarch Bartholomew, to consider the Ukrainian church issue at the Pan-Orthodox level. The bishop is convinced that the recognition of Ukrainian schismatics and the granting of the Tomos of autocephaly to them was a fatal mistake that could split world Orthodoxy.