Romanian media: Local Churches demonstrate full support for UOC

His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry and representatives of the Local Churches at festive vespers on the eve of St. Onuphrius the Great holiday. Photo: UOC

On June 27, 2019, the Romanian resource activenews.ro published a detailed report on the celebrations in honor of St. Patron’s Day of His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kiev and All Ukraine in Kiev.

“The arrival of representatives of 10 Orthodox Churches in Kiev testified to their support for the Ukrainian canonical Church and love for Metropolitan Onuphry,” write Romanian journalists.

The authors of the article consider: “After the Patriarchate of Constantinople recognized two schismatic groups and, together with the US State Department, exerted pressure unprecedented over the past decades on the autocephalous Orthodox Churches, most of them demonstrated an ability to withstand this pressure. The occasion to the effect became a feast of the Heavenly Patron’s Day of the Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Onuphry of Kiev.”

According to the Romanian media, the joint Divine Liturgy and the Eucharist bear witness to the mutual recognition by the Churches and their support of the canonical Church.

“The participation of representatives of 10 Autocephalous Churches confirmed that they recognize the canonicity of Metropolitan Onuphry and do not recognize the actions of the Patriarchate of Constantinople on creating the “Orthodox Church in Ukraine” and granting autocephaly to the clergy who formed it,” journalists say.

As the UOJ reported, representatives of 11 Local Churches arrived at the celebration of St. Patron’s Day of His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry. They not only became honorary guests of the celebrations, but also discussed with the Primate of the UOC the religious situation in Ukraine, as well as gave an assessment of the “Ukrainian religious issue” in the context of world Orthodoxy.

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