Paul Goble
Staunton, Sept. 20 – President Volodymyr Zelensky says that he has asked representatives of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Constantinople to raise the status of the autocephalous Orthodox Church of Ukraine by making its leader a patriarch and thus the church itself a patriarchate equal in dignity to the other patriarchate churches.
At present, even after being granted autocephaly, the OCU is only a metropolitanate under Constantinople. Zelensky says he made that request at the end of August when representatives of the Universal Patriarchate visited Kyiv (spzh.live/ru/news/82147-zelenskij-prizval-fanar-podnjat-status-ptsu-do-patriarkhata).
The Ukrainian leader adds that these representatives of Constantinople promised to raise the issue with the Universal Patriarch who is the only figure who could make such a change. Russian commentators are suggesting that Zelensky has gone public with this because he expects rejection and hopes to put pressure on Constantinople (rusk.ru/newsdata.php?idar=118873).
Such an elevation would likely make it easier for the OCU to absorb congregations and even bishoprics from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church which no longer styles itself “of the Moscow Patriarchate” but which remains the Moscow church there and may be banned as early as next spring.
The Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate will move heaven and earth to prevent such a change in the status of the OCU and this week used a meeting of other Orthodox patriarchates in the hopes of keeping them on its side in the fight with Constantinople over various issues, including likely this one (rusk.ru/newsdata.php?idar=118874).
No comments:
Post a Comment