Former UOC clerics call on their former brethren to join schism

The leaders of the stauropegial parishes of the OCU, which were previously under the jurisdiction of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, appealed to their former brethren to fully unite in the bosom of the OCU. The appeal of December 15, 2025, emphasizes the «canonical reality established by the Tomos of Autocephaly» and condemns the preservation of ties with the Moscow Patriarchate.

The appeal, published on the official website of the OCU, states that the receipt of the Tomos of Autocephaly in January 2019 was «a key historical event that finally formed the canonical reality on Ukrainian soil.» This act of the Patriarchate of Constantinople «restored historical justice and approved in the Diptych the one, Local Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Ukraine.» According to the Tomos, the Orthodox Church within Ukraine «shall henceforth and forever be canonically independent, autonomous and autocephalous.» This fact is called irreversible and binding on all Orthodox Christians in Ukraine.

The authors of the appeal express regret that the bishops and clergy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, for the most part, ignored the possibility of timely and conciliar unity, rejecting the invitation of Patriarch Bartholomew to participate in the Unification Council in 2018. It is noted that in this way they «deliberately prolonged the state of schism, ignoring the will of the Ukrainian people to spiritual unity and the canonical order.»

Representatives of the OCU also emphasize that «the Russian state is waging an unjust, genocidal war against Ukraine, and the Moscow Patriarchate (ROC) has become its active tool,» preaching the ideology of the «Russian world.» This ideology, according to the authors of the appeal, «contains elements of the ancient heresies of Manichaeism and Gnosticism, as well as the newest heretical doctrine of ethnophyletism, which distorts the true teaching of the Eastern Orthodox Church,» in particular through the preaching of a «holy war.»

As an example of «true change and responsible choice,» hundreds of parishes and clergy who previously belonged to the UOC and consciously moved to the OCU are cited. This act is viewed not just as a change of jurisdiction, but «as an act of true internal change and canonical correction.» The authors of the appeal claim that their path is «the only true one for every bishop, priest and believer of the UOC, showing that the doors of the Local Church are open to all who are ready to accept the canonical truth and dissociate themselves from hostile and heretical influence.»

In conclusion, the appeal states that «the future of Ukrainian Orthodoxy is the path of development, establishment and full unity in the bosom of the Local Autocephalous Church of Ukraine.» The authors of the text insist that the episcopate, clergy and faithful of the UOC «realize the full responsibility of the moment and take a decisive step towards the one Local Church, testifying to their loyalty to Christ, His Church and Ukraine.»

Earlier, the head of the Department for External Church Relations of the Russian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk, commented on the situation in which the Ukrainian Orthodox Church found itself. The hierarch noted that the UOC is facing unprecedented persecution and severe pressure from the Ukrainian government, which prevents the Church leadership from responding fully to future challenges. At the same time, Metropolitan Anthony noted that despite the pressure, the bishops of the UOC do not fall into schism but remain faithful to their Church.