Ukrainians reject transition to OCU, says Romanian Church

Parishioners of the UOC after reclaiming the cathedral in Chernivtsi from the OCU invaders. Photo: UOJ

The Romanian Orthodox Church, responding to the appeal of the Ukrainian ambassador Ihor Prokopchuk to recognize the OCU, which he voiced after this structure attempted to seize the UOC cathedral in Chernivtsi, stated that Ukrainians firmly reject the possibility of joining Dumenko's structure. This was reported by the Romanian publication Stiripesurse.

The Romanian Patriarchate emphasized that "discussions with Romanian Orthodox clergy and laity in Ukraine showed that most of them firmly, even with fear, reject the possible transition to the jurisdiction of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine."

The Romanian Orthodox Church highlighted the hostile attitude of the Ukrainian state towards Romanian believers in Ukraine through the non-compliance with the rights to practice their faith.

As reported by the UOJ, the Patriarchate highlighted that regarding the church situation in Ukraine, the point of view of the Romanian Orthodox Church remains that formulated by the Holy Synod in its working session held on February 21, 2019, namely: "For almost 30 years, the problem of the schism in Ukraine has not been resolved, nor has there been an appeal for pan-Orthodox mediation, as was done in the case of the schism in Bulgaria." The Patriarchate also noted that the Synod's decision included a call for convening a pan-Orthodox council if the formation of the OCU does not resolve the Ukrainian issue.

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