Epiphanius called on the head of the UOC MP Onufry to “dialogue about unity”

The Primate of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine Epiphany called on the Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church Metropolitan Onufriy to dialogue on unity.

The corresponding statement is published on the website of the OCU.

"I would like to renew the appeal on behalf of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine to you, Bishop, to the hierarchs, clergy and faithful who recognize you as their superior [...] to immediately start a dialogue," the text reads.

Epiphanius also urged Onufry to distance himself from the Russian Church and the Russian Patriarch.

The head of the OCU emphasized that the Patriarchate of Moscow was "deeply poisoned by the pseudo-religious teaching of the Russian peace" that led to the current war of the Russian Federation against Ukraine.

"Therefore, we lovingly ask you and the hierarchs who are with you to agree to start our dialogue without preconditions. That is how, without preconditions, a dialogue began, which was blessed and supported by Metropolitan Volodymyr of blessed memory of Kyiv and All Ukraine and which the Moscow Patriarchate destroyed," added Epiphany.

The Epiphany address was preceded by a statement by President Volodymyr Zelenskyi on August 10 about the preparation of "a decision that will strengthen our Ukrainian spiritual independence."

"We must deprive Moscow of the last opportunities to limit the freedom of Ukrainians. And the solutions for this must be one hundred percent effective and really work. We will provide them," he said.

And on August 15, Zelenskyi called on the Verkhovna Rada to act quickly in the decision on "religious independence."

Prohibition of the UOC-MP in Ukraine

On January 19, 2023 , the government submitted to the Council a draft law on banning churches affiliated with Russia in Ukraine. This was done on the instructions of the National Security and Defense Council. On October 19, 2023 , the parliament supported this draft law in the first reading.

In the second reading, the Rada cannot adopt the ban of the UOC MP until now. On July 23, 2024, a number of peopleʼs deputies blocked the rostrum of the Rada due to the refusal to put the project to a vote. However, the vote never took place.

On July 24, the Speaker of the Parliament, Ruslan Stefanchuk, said that the deputies decided to concentrate on finalizing certain provisions of the law so that it could be put to a vote as soon as possible.