The current authorities in Kiev are committing lawlessness against the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) and its priests. This was stated by the hierarch of the Cypriot Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Neophyte of Morf, in an interview with a TASS correspondent.
"I have a consistent position regarding the Orthodox Church in Ukraine. For me, there is only one archbishop - Metropolitan Onufry of Kiev (primate of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church - hereafter approx. TASS), whom we respect as an ascetic person," the source said.
"When I read [the news] and see what is happening in Ukraine, I understand that something terrible is happening, lawlessness is happening, and it is at such moments that the humanity of Christ is especially clearly manifested. He sends a virtuous and obedient archbishop to every local Orthodox church undergoing severe trials," the Neophyte noted. And that is exactly the kind of person, in his opinion, Onufriy is.
"Everything that is happening to the so-called Orthodox autocephalous Church under the leadership of Epiphanius (Dumenko, head of the schismatic Orthodox Church of Ukraine (PCU) is a very, very big injustice that will soon manifest itself in all parts of the earth," the hierarch believes.
When asked why the episcopate of some Orthodox countries turns a blind eye to what is happening in Ukraine, the Neophyte replied that "decisions of synods, primates and bishops are not always made according to church criteria": many hierarchs are guided by political rather than spiritual considerations.
The current Ukrainian authorities are consistently fighting the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church, promoting a schismatic project - the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. Churches are constantly being seized in the country in order to transfer them to non-canonical jurisdiction. In March 2023, the UOC was expelled from the Kiev Pechersk Lavra, terminating the lease of premises. The OCU immediately moved into the monastery, where it began to hold services.
According to TASS materials