An assumption that the Church of Constantinople should enjoy a special status, is the ultimate cause of the serious crisis in world Orthodoxy today, according to His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufry of Ukraine. The Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church was speaking at the International Conference, "Catholicity of the Church: Theological, Canonical and Historical Dimensions", organized by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which was held in the Holy Dormition Kiev-Pechersk Lavra and opened November 11, 2021. He stressed that the solution to the current crisis can only be found in the course of a pan-Orthodox discussion. 

His Beatitude reminded everyone that the Catholicity of the Church is one of the pillars of Orthodox ecclesiology. Since apostolic times, all disputes have been resolved at Councils. “When catholicity weakens, it brings on decline in other areas of church life,” he said. “Unfortunately, the Constantinople Patriarchate has been increasingly vocal in claiming its special rights. It tries to resolve some of the most important issues of Church life according to its own will. The fact that the Church of Constantinople believes it enjoys special status, is the primary cause of the serious crisis that we are witnessing in world Orthodoxy today,” Metropolitan Onufry stated.   

The conference, which is taking place in the assembly hall of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, is attended by theologians and scholars of the UOC, as well as the Antiochian, Russian, Serbian, Bulgarian, and Polish Orthodox Churches, as well as the Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia, and the Orthodox Church in America.

The International Forum is organized by the Kiev Theological Academy according to the decision of the Holy Synod of the UOC on May 12, 2021.