"Ecumenism on the march": OCU head holds joint worship events with Uniates and Roman Catholics

on November 22, 2025, in Kyiv, the head of the OCU held joint worship events with representatives of the UGCC and the RCC. The event, dedicated to the memory of the Holodomor victims, took place near the capital’s memorial and was a full-fledged joint «worship service» that raises questions from the point of view of Orthodox canons.

The memorial service was reportedly led by the head of the OCU Epiphany Dumenko and the head of the UGCC Sviatoslav Shevchuk. The event was attended by about 40 clergymen of both church structures, as well as Catholic Bishop Alexander Yazlovetsky. It is noted that during the service, Dumenko and Shevchuk alternately pronounced exclamations and performed chalices, which indicates the existence of liturgical cooperation between the heads of the OCU and the UGCC.

This event attracts special attention in connection with the canonical rules of Orthodoxy that limit joint prayers with representatives of other faiths. The source recalls the 45th Apostolic Canon, which reads: «A bishop, or presbyter, or deacon who has merely prayed with heretics, let him be excommunicated. If he allowed them to do anything as clerics, let him be excommunicated.»

As we reported earlier, on April 21, 2025, the head of the OCU Epiphany Dumenko held a «funeral litia» for Pope Francis at St. Michael’s Golden-Domed Cathedral.