UOC Council: Process of granting Tomos is artificially imposed from outside

Primate of the UOC chairing the session of the Bishops’ Council in Kiev

The process of granting the Tomos on autocephaly is artificially imposed from outside, says the official statement of the Bishops’ Council of the UOC, which took place at the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra on November 13.

“The Bishops' Council notes that the process of granting the so-called Tomos on autocephaly is artificial, imposed from outside, does not reflect the internal ecclesiastical necessity, will not bring real church unity, will deepen division and intensify conflicts among the people of Ukraine,” the UOC information and Education Department publishes the document. “Under these conditions, the participation of the episcopate, clergy and laity of the UOC in these processes is considered impossible.”

In addition, the Council of Bishops states that the illegal actions of the Patriarchate of Constantinople lead to a deep church crisis, both in Ukraine and in world Orthodoxy.

“We pray that the voice of the multimillion flock of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church will be heard, and the actions carried out so far by the Constantinople Patriarchate will be corrected. The Council of Bishops calls the Patriarchate of Constantinople to dialogue with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, with the fraternal participation of all the Local Orthodox Churches in order to jointly address this problem,” the document says.

We recall that today, a meeting between the UOC episcopate and the President of Ukraine was scheduled for 14.00. Eventually, it did not take place. At 11.00, a session of the Holy Synod of the UOC was held. It was followed by an emergency session of the Bishops’ Council of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

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