Metropolitan Anthony (Pakanych): we do not recognize the new Ukrainian Orthodox Church

Metropolitan Anthony (Pakanych), Chancellor of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate, said that their Church would not recognize the newly established UOC. He said this in an interview with the Greek news agency Romphea.

“Our Church does not recognize these actions and will not coexist with the new “Church”. The Church is a large spiritual family, which means that most of our faithful and parishes will remain in the womb of the canonical Church, they will not betray their shepherds whom they love and follow,” he said.

The hierarch of the UOC (MP) does not deny that many clerics and lay people will leave the “canonical” Moscow Patriarchate and go to the UOC.

"Some people will leave, but not many, mainly problematic persons will leave. Differences will emerge again in the families of Ukrainians, our temples will be again grabbed, brother will go to brother, there will be conflicts. We have experienced similar events in the early 90's of the last century, when a split emerged,” metropolitan shared.

The UOC-MP also noted that after the granting of the Tomos and the creation of the UOC, the situation in the ecclesial and public life of Ukraine will change radically.

“Everything will be quite the opposite. Today's schismatics will become an autocephalous Church, and efforts will be taken to make our canonical Church a stranger to our country. Here, the Ecumenical Patriarch compromises himself in the eyes of all our believing people, our clergy and the bishops,” concluded Metropolitan Anthony (Pakanych).

As we previously reported, from the beginning, the UOC (MP) did not believe in the possibility of the issuance of the Tomos for the UOC. Archpriest Mykola Danylevych, Deputy Chairman of the Department of External Church Relations of the UOC-MP, commenting on the appeal of the Ukrainian Churches and President Petro Poroshenko to the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew regarding the provision of the Tomos of autocephaly to the UOC, said that the entire process would end with a “puff”.

“There will be a lot of noise in the media, and everything will end there,” the cleric said with conviction.

In order to explain his point of view, he resorted to an allegory.

“Why? Because they erect a building on a foundation where in principle it is impossible to build. It is necessary to start with the UOC, and not from its separate parts. A jacket is not sewn to a button, but on the contrary, a button to a jacket,” he stressed.

Last Friday Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople appointed two exarchs to Ukraine, which should deal with the issue of preparing autocephaly for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. This decision was met with a strong protest by the Moscow Patriarchate which considers Ukraine its canonical territory.