The Council of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate has decided on the full independence and autonomy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church from the Russian, as well as:
- condemned the war in Ukraine;
- asked Ukraine and Russia to continue peace talks;
- expressed disagreement with the position of Patriarch Kirill on the war in Ukraine;
- put forward conditions for the Orthodox Church of Ukraine to hold a dialogue between them
"During the three months of the war, more than 6 million Ukrainian citizens were forced to go abroad. Most of them are Ukrainians from the southern, eastern and central regions of Ukraine. Many of them are faithful to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. That is why the Kyiv metropolitanate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church receives appeals from different countries with requests to open Ukrainian Orthodox parishes. It is obvious that many of our compatriots will return to their homeland, but many will stay for permanent residence abroad. In this regard, the Council expresses its deep conviction that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church cannot leave its faithful without spiritual care and must be with them in their trials, to organize church communities in the diaspora, "the statement said.
In order for the dialogue to take place, the UOC Council demands that the UOC:
- "Stop the violent seizure of churches and forced transfers of parishes of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church";
- "To realize that their canonical status is in fact non-autocephalous and significantly inferior to the freedoms and opportunities in the implementation of church activities, which are provided by the Statute of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church."
The Council approved the relevant additions and amendments to the Statute of Administration of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which testify to its full independence and autonomy.